GENERIC ASSESSMENT CRITERIA Your work will be marked according to the following criteria:

Knowledge and understanding of the subject - Is the content of the piece of work focused and relevant? - Does it demonstrate sound knowledge and understanding of the subject under discussion? - Does it demonstrate sound knowledge of the nature of the period under discussion? Analysis and argument related to the question - Does the piece of work develop a clear and relevant argument? - Is the argument effectively supported by careful use of evidence? - Does it examine the significance of relevant points rather than merely identify them? - Is it analytical in approach rather than descriptive and/or narrative? Research and sources: secondary works and where relevant primary evidence - Is the work based on a good range of secondary sources, including (particularly in Years 2 and 3) specialized journal literature? - Does it reflect critically on historians work rather than merely repeating their conclusions? - For Dissertations: does the work engage with a good range of primary evidence? Structure and organization - Is there a logical structure to the content both in terms of the order of paragraphs and the order of sentences within paragraphs? - Does the introduction set out the aims of the assignment? - Does the conclusion draw together the key points and answer the question? - For Dissertations: is the work divided appropriately into chapters?

Standard of presentation: in accordance with subject guidelines, including references and bibliography - Is the work legibly typed/word-processed, double-spaced and clearly divided into paragraphs? - Are there adequate footnotes/endnotes and are they correctly presented? - Is there a bibliography, correctly presented? (For Dissertations: follow the specific requirements set out in the course handbook.) - For Dissertations: is there a proper title page and contents page? Are the pages numbered? Are any tables, maps, illustrations etc. located close to the relevant part(s) of the dissertation and clearly labelled? Standard of literacy - Is the work written in correct English i.e. good sentence structure and grammar? - Is it written in an appropriate style i.e. avoiding casual expression/slang? - Is the work correctly spelled and punctuated?

Additional Assessment Criteria - for assignments other than essays, seminar papers and dissertations

For assessing document work - Does the comment show a firm understanding and appreciation of the contents of the document, explaining where relevant the significance of people, places and events? - Does the comment demonstrate an informed, detailed and critical understanding of the context in which the document was produced and its relationship to the events surrounding it? - Does the comment demonstrate a firm and critical appreciation of the perspective of the author(s), displaying a clear understanding of bias and prejudice where relevant? - Does the comment demonstrate an informed understanding of the documents wider significance (for example, to historical debate), and a critical awareness of other strengths and limitations of the document as a piece of evidence? For assessing seminar reports - Do the reports demonstrate critical reflection on both preparation for, and participation in the seminars? - Do they comment effectively on the topics under discussion, including the strengths and limitations of the primary evidence? For assessing presentations: - Does the presentation identify and explain key issues/sites of historical importance (as appropriate)? - Does the presentation show evidence of appropriate research? - Is it sensibly organised and coherent? - Are the visual materials (powerpoint/overhead slides/handouts or posters, as appropriate) relevant and of good quality? - For oral presentations: is the delivery clear and well-paced, involving engagement with the audience (e.g. maintaining eye contact)? Standard of written English, referencing and standard of presentation All work (coursework and examination scripts) should be written in clear and accurate English. Coursework should be referenced according to the guidelines set out on page 16 above and it should have a bibliography set out according to the advice on page 17. It should be presented in good order.

History level descriptors These try to explain what quality of work is required to achieve particular marks. 70-85 (A); 86-100 (A+) = First Class Honours Outstanding and critical understanding of the subject/period Demonstrates clear evidence of originality of thought Closely engaged with the question; developing a coherent and convincing argument in a clear and confident manner Demonstrates a firm grasp of historical (and where relevant historiographical) knowledge and issues, and an understanding of historical change Based on a broad and deep awareness of relevant material, including extensive secondary reading and appropriate use of contemporary sources Impeccably referenced and presented in an analytical and relevant way 60-69 (B) = Upper Second Class Honours Very good understanding of the subject/period Evidence of originality of thought Generally engaged with the question; makes a serious attempt to develop a coherent and convincing argument in an appropriate manner Demonstrates an understanding of historical (and where relevant historiographical) knowledge and issues, and of historical change Based on a good range of secondary literature, with reference to, and use of, contemporary sources Carefully referenced and presented, with appropriate analysis or reflection 50-59 (C) = Lower Second Class Honours Sound understanding of the subject/period Evidence of some originality of thought Engaged with the question; attempts to develop an argument in an appropriate manner Shows some understanding of historical knowledge and issues, and of historical change Based on a range of secondary literature Referenced and presented in a satisfactory manner

45-49 (D); 40-44 (E) = Third Class Honours Demonstrates some understanding of the subject/period Limited evidence of originality Some attempt to engage with the question Limited understanding of historical knowledge and issues, and of historical change Limited use of secondary literature Not carefully referenced or focused

35-39 (F+) = Marginal Fail Not satisfactory; but a bare pass could be attained with improvement in some areas A limited, but unsatisfactory, attempt to engage with the question/task

25-34 (F) = Clear Fail Poor work; a lot more work would be needed to raise this to a bare pass Not engaged with the question/task 15-24 (F-) = Comprehensive Fail Very poor work; largely irrelevant Almost no effort to engage with the question/task 1-14 (U) = Unclassified A complete failure to engage with the question/task

Academic writing
You probably spend a lot of time writing - emails, texts, shopping lists, letters to friends, filling in forms etc. For each of these, you will use a different style of writing, choosing whichever is appropriate for the purpose and the people you are writing for. The style of writing you will be expected to use for academic work is likely to be different to other styles you use every day. It is part of your academic training to learn how to write in this more formal style - it demonstrates discipline and thoughtfulness, and is important to communicate your ideas clearly. These pages offer advice on developing your academic writing.

Grammar Punctuation Writing style Effective proof reading

Essay writing

Why write essays? What makes a good essay? How do I get started? o Words commonly used in essay titles o Check your guidelines! How do I plan my essay? o Key steps in the essay writing process How do I structure my essay? o Example essay structure o What goes where? o Do essays need headings? Editing and reviewing Essay writing tips

Most students are familiar with the use of essays for assessments, and you may have written essays at school or at college. It is possible to develop good essay writing skills, and the advice and tips that follow will help you do this.

Why write essays?

Some people enjoy writing essays and others don't. However you feel about this, it's worth considering what the purpose in writing essays actually is.

Essays always require you to explore a particular topic or issue. So they are a way of extending your learning and understanding. Because you have to do the research for the essay independently, it means you can do this at your own pace, and in your own way, which is a great advantage. It also means that you are developing your skills in independent learning at the same time. In order to produce a good essay, you have to present the ideas and information in a logical and coherent way. This means you have to organise all the information you have collected. To do this, you will be developing skills in analysis, and synthesis (bringing together). In first year, essays generally ask you to 'outline', 'explain', 'explore' or 'describe', and then as you progress you are required to 'discuss' and to 'critically evaluate'. Essays generally require you to present ideas or a well reasoned argument backed up by relevant evidence. This involves many skills, including comparing the ideas of different writers, and being able to evaluate different perspectives. You are not just giving your own views! Finally, essays are a means for you to demonstrate your understanding and how much you have learnt in a well structured format.

There is no single correct way to approach essay writing. Each person has to find what suits them best.

What makes a good essay?

The ideas and information are presented in a well structured, coherent way. It flows logically from the introduction to the conclusion. There is evidence to support the ideas or arguments presented. It is properly referenced. It is presented in an appropriate style, in well written English.

How do I get started?

It's very common for students to enjoy the reading they do in preparation for their essay. After all, it's usually interesting and you feel as though you're learning. But the hard bit is getting the information and ideas you've collected into a well organised, coherent shape and then to start writing. What can help? 1. When you've read through all your notes, it's a good idea to look again at your essay title, and then do a brainstorm to produce an essay plan. What are the main themes, or sections or areas? How do the various bits of information link together? You may already have a good idea of a plan for your essay based on your initial analysis of the question, but you'll still need to look at this again in the light of the reading you've done. Anyway, make a plan for the main parts of your essay, and note down the key ideas or information for each part. The plan can be a mindmap, a spidergram, linear notes, or a set of boxes. 2. The second thing that can help you get started, is to think of what you're writing as a draft. It is not the finished version. If you try to get something perfect from the beginning, it could actually prevent you getting started or getting very far. Just start by putting your ideas down, using your plan. After all, you can return later and revise what you've written. 3. Sometimes students spend ages trying to work out how to write their introduction. But is it such a good idea to write the introduction first? After all, the purpose of the introduction is to indicate to the reader what's in the essay, and it may be difficult to do that until the essay's written. So consider starting with the main body of essay. It's usually

easier to get into, and when that's done, you could return and write the introduction. But it's up to you. Some students find they have to begin by writing the introduction. Remember: There's no one correct way to get started. Find what suits you! A warning: if you simply start writing, with your pile of notes at your side, and you haven't given any thought to the organisation of the ideas and information, then you are very likely to end up with an essay that rambles and has no clear sense of direction. Think before you start writing!

Words commonly used in essay titles

Here are some words and phrases that are often used in essay titles: Word or phrase Account for Give an account of Analyse Assess Comment on Compare and contrast Criticise Define Describe Discuss Elucidate Evaluate Examine Explain Illustrate To what extent Show Outline What does it mean? give reasons for, explain how something came about, clarify describe in detail how something happened examine in detail decide the importance/value of something and give reasons explain the importance of describe/explore similarities and differences, indicate the significance of the similarities or differences consider the evidence or arguments and make a judgment about the merits, points out the faults state precisely the meaning of something, using examples. A simple statement will not be enough, you usually need to explore this thoroughly give a detailed account of what something is like explain and give different views about something, then give your own opinion based on sound evidence explain and make clear examine the evidence and decide on the value of something, make a judgment about it, based on sound evidence look at very carefully give reasons for something make very clear by giving examples discuss how accurate something is, there is no definite answer to this make clear, demonstrate, give evidence for give a short description of the main points

Check your guidelines!

At university, essays will form part of the assessment for many modules. Sometimes an essay can count for 40% of the total marks for a module. Sometimes it is more than this, and sometimes less. You should always check the information for the module so that you know how many marks are allocated to the particular essay. So, check your guidelines for: Length Essays vary in length. In first year, students are sometimes asked for essays around 1500 words, and then later essays may be around 2500 words. You are usually allowed to vary from the desired length by about 10%, but you must check how many words are expected. The guidelines will also give you information about how the essay will be marked. These are called the marking criteria. Marks may be allocated for content, for quality of analysis, for structure, for quality of writing, and for referencing. However, the criteria, and the allocation of marks for each criterion are different for different subjects. So again, you need to check the information given. Sometimes these guidelines can give you hints about an appropriate structure for your writing. That can be really helpful, so make sure you look for this!

Marking criteria

Structure

How do I plan my essay?

It's vital that you give yourself enough time to prepare your essay. Planning is a really important skill, and we've considered this in the section on planning and process, so if you haven't looked at that yet, now would be a good time to do it. In terms of planning, you need to give yourself adequate time to thoroughly analyse the question or title, so that you know exactly what is required, then you have to allocate time to read and research, then time to draft the essay and write the reference list, and finally you need time to carefully edit your work.

Key steps in the essay writing process

Unpick the question Know exactly what you have to do & Brainstorm what you already know

Final Editting Proof read for spelling Grammar etc. Read it out aloud or ask somebody to read it

Read Make notes & Take proper references

Draft introduction & Main section & Conclusion & footnotes with full Bibliography

Planning Plan you writing & Organise your notes

How do I structure my essay?

The structure of an essay is important for two reasons: 1. It shows that you have been able to order your thoughts in a systematic, logical way. 2. The structure should take the reader logically from the introduction through to the conclusion, so that the reader feels a clear sense of direction throughout the essay, and never thinks, "what connection does this bit have with what I've just read?" It's obvious that an essay needs a beginning, a middle and an end. These sections are usually referred to as the Introduction, the Main Body and the Conclusion. In addition you will need a Reference list and perhaps a Bibliography. But what's the purpose of each section and what should be in them?

Example essay structure

Section What goes in? Introduction The purpose of the introduction is to 'tune the reader in'. It should

give your interpretation of the question or title. may say briefly why this topic or issue is significant. explain what the essay is going to do. identify the key points that will be presented in the essay.

Main body The main body is where you develop the main ideas or argument. Depending on the size of the essay, it will contain several sections, each divided into paragraphs. The paragraphs should be logically linked as you develop the themes or ideas. As we have said elsewhere, the sections may or may not have headings, but you must check your guidelines for this. In the main body you will present ideas or arguments backed up by evidence from your reading. When you mention the ideas of another writer you must reference them. Conclusion In the conclusion you should summarise the main ideas presented. It should bring together the different strands of your essay, and should follow logically from what you have presented in the main body. The conclusion should also be linked back to the title and show how you have answered the question. The conclusion should not contain any new material. It should be based on what you have already presented. References The reference list should contain details of all the sources you have mentioned in your essay. A bibliography contains sources you have consulted, but not mentioned in your essay. You may only be asked for a reference list or you may be asked for both. Again you should check what is required.

What goes where?

Introduction Main Section Conclusion Bibliography

Do essays need headings?

In a short essay (around 1000 words) there is usually no need for section headings. Your writing should show how the different parts link to each other. However, in longer essays (around 2500 words) it may be appropriate to insert section headings. It is very important to check the guidelines you are given because requirements and preferences vary!

Editing and reviewing

Many students find they are in such a rush to meet the deadlines that they don't have time for this. Yet, it can make such a difference to the quality of the essay you submit, and can increase the marks you get. Don't forget to allow time to edit and review your assignment effectively.

Essay writing tips

Check the guidelines for your assignment Unpick the question. What exactly do you have to do? What do you need to know?

Brainstorm what you know. Brainstorm for ideas. Make a time plan, allowing plenty of time for research. Draw up a writing plan, then do a very rough first draft. Aim to start and finish effectively. Structure your writing so that its flow is clear, logical and coherent. Carefully proofread and edit your essay. Ensure all your sources are clearly referenced in your text.

Develop your essay writing

This guide looks at ways you can develop your essay writing practices, including:

Good academic writing style Integrating evidence and your own ideas Critical analysis Editing and proof reading

Printable version of this guide (this is designed to be printed double-sided on A4 paper, then folded to make an A5 leaflet).

Academic writing style

Academic essays should be written in a formal style. Avoid:

clichs ("the flaws in this argument stand out like a sore thumb") contractions ("don't", "aren't", "it's") phrases that sound like speech ("well, this bit is really fascinating") subjective descriptions ("this beautiful sculpture")

Use the first person "I" only where appropriate (e.g. when writing up your own experience or professional case study). Where possible use the third person, for example "It can be argued"instead of "I think" Use plain language - you don't have to search for a more "academic-sounding" word when a simple one will do. Markers are looking for clear and accurate expression of ideas, not jargon or confusing language. Shorter sentences are usually clearer than long complex ones, but make sure it is a whole sentence and not just a clause or phrase. (See our guides on Academic writing for more advice on this.)

Integrating evidence and your own ideas

Your argument is your reasoned answer to the essay question, supported by evidence. The books, articles, and research material that you read for your essay provide this evidence to back up your points. The way in which you select and interpret the evidence, and explain why it answers the question, is where you demonstrate your own thinking. For each point that you make in your essay, you need to support it with evidence. There are many different kinds of evidence, and the type you use will depend on what is suitable for your subject and what the essay question is asking you to do. For example, you might back up a point using a theory (one kind of evidence) then show how this theory applies to a specific example in real life (another kind of evidence). A model for a paragraph that includes evidence and your own ideas: 1. Introduce your point (your own words) 2. Add the evidence to support your point (quoted or paraphrased evidence that needs to be referenced) 3. Explain how and why this evidence supports your point and what you think of it (your own interpretation and critical thinking)

4. Explain how the point helps answer the question (your own argument)

As you get more experienced with essay writing, you will want to adapt this model to suit the structure and shape of your ideas.

Critical analysis
Critical analysis is a key skill for writing essays at university; it allows you to assess the various ideas and information that you read, and decide whether you want to use them to support your points. It is not a mysterious skill that is only available to advanced students; it is something we do everyday when assessing the information around us and making reasoned decisions, for example whether to believe the claims made in TV adverts. Nor does it always mean disagreeing with something you also need to be able to explain why you agree with arguments. Try this video tutorial from the University of Leicester on What it means to be a critical student. Critical analysis involves: 1. Carefully considering an idea and weighing up the evidence supporting it to see if it is convincing. 2. Then being able to explain why you find the evidence convincing or unconvincing. It helps if you ask yourself a series of questions about the material you are reading. Try using these questions to help you think critically:

Who is the author and what is their viewpoint or bias? Who is the audience and how does that influence the way information is presented? What is the main message of the text? What evidence has been used to support this main message? Is the evidence convincing; are there any counter-arguments? Do I agree with the text and why do I agree or disagree?

Some ways to get more critical analysis into your essays Avoid unnecessary description only include general background details and history when they add to your argument, e.g. to show a crucial cause and effect. Practice distinguishing between description (telling what happened) and analysis (judging why something happened). Interpret your evidence explain how and why your evidence supports your point. Interpretation is an important part of critical analysis, and you should not just rely on the evidence "speaking for itself". Be specific - avoid making sweeping generalisations or points that are difficult to support with specific evidence. It is better to be more measured and tie your argument to precise examples or case studies. Use counter-arguments to your advantage if you find viewpoints that go against your own argument, don't ignore them. It strengthens an argument to include an opposing viewpoint and explain why it is not as convincing as your own line of reasoning. For more on this see... Critical Thinking and Reflection (LearnHigher) Stella Cottrell (2005). Critical Thinking Skills. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Editing and proofreading

You might have had enough of your work by now, and be hoping to just hand it in! However, it's worth taking some time to check it over. Markers often comment that more time spent on editing and proofreading could have really made a difference to the final mark.

Editing Editing involves checking whether all your points are in the right order and that they are all relevant to the question. Be ruthless at this stage if the information isn't directly answering the question, cut it out! You will get many more marks for showing you can answer the question than you will for an unordered list of everything you know about a topic. Put yourself in the reader's position can they follow the points you are making clearly? You know what you are trying to say, but will your reader? Are there gaps in your reasoning to be explained or filled? Proofreading Identifying your own mistakes and correcting them is an important part of academic writing: this is what you do when you proofread. Ideally leave a day between finishing your essay and proofreading it. You won't be so close to your work, so you will see your errors more easily. Try reading your essay aloud, as this will slow you down, make you focus on each word, and show you when your sentences are too long. It can help to have a friend read through your work but developing your own proofreading skills is better. Your friend won't always be available! Also check that all your references are complete and accurate (see our guides to referencing).

Planning and structuring your essay

This guide covers the first stages of writing an essay including:

Answering the question Generating ideas Planning your essay Different methods of planning

Answering the question

A very common complaint from lecturers and examiners is that students write a lot of information but they just don't answer the question. Don't rush straight into researching give yourself time to think carefully about the question and understand what it is asking. Top tip: Set the question in context how does it fit with the key issues, debates and controversies in your module and your subject as a whole? An essay question often asks about a specific angle or aspect of one of these key debates. If you understand the context it makes your understanding of the question clearer. Is the question open-ended or closed? If it is open-ended you will need to narrow it down. Explain how and why you have decided to limit it in the introduction to your essay, so the reader knows you appreciate the wider issues, but that you can also be selective. If it is a closed question, your answer must refer to and stay within the limits of the question (i.e. specific dates, texts, or countries). Underlining key words This is a good start point for making sure you understand all the terms (some might need defining); identifying the crucial information in the question; and clarifying what the question is asking you to do (compare & contrast, analyse, discuss). But make sure you then consider the question as a whole again, not just as a series of unconnected words. Re-read the question Read the question through a few times. Explain it to yourself, so you are sure you know what it is asking you to do.

Try breaking the question down into sub-questions What is the question asking? Why is this important? How am I going to answer it? What do I need to find out first, second, third in order to answer the question? This is a good way of working out what important points or issues make up the overall question it can help focus your reading and start giving your essay a structure. However, try not to have too many sub-questions as this can lead to following up minor issues, as opposed to the most important points.

Generating ideas
Before reading - This is a really valuable stage which many people miss out, but it makes your reading and planning much easier. Before rushing into your reading, note down your initial thoughts about the question - a spider diagram or mind map is good for this.

The kinds of things to note briefly are: - What you already know about the topic from lectures, seminars, general knowledge. - Things you don't know about the topic, but need to find out in order to answer the question. - Initial responses or answers to the question what you think your conclusion might possibly be. This helps you start formulating your argument and direction for answering the question. It also helps you focus your reading, as you can pinpoint what you need to find out and go straight to the parts of books, chapters, articles that will be most relevant. After reading - After your reading, it is often good to summarise all your findings on a page again, a spider diagram can help with this. Bringing together the key points from your reading helps clarify what you have found out, and helps you find a pathway through all the ideas and issues you have encountered. If you include brief details of authors and page nos. for key information, it can act as a quick at-a-glance guide for finding the evidence you need to support your points later. It also helps you see how your initial response to the question might have changed or become more sophisticated in light of the reading you've done. It leads into planning your essay structure.

Why plan?

Planning your essay makes it much more likely that you will end up with a coherent argument. It enables you to work out a logical structure and an end point for your argument before you start writing. It means you don't have to do this type of complex thinking at the same time as trying to find the right words to express your ideas. It helps you to commit yourself to sticking to the point!

You need to work out what to include, and what can be left out. It is impossible to cover everything in an essay, and your markers will be looking for evidence of your ability to choose material and put it in order. Brainstorm all your ideas, then arrange them in three or four groups. Not everything will fit so be prepared to discard some points (you can mention them briefly in your introduction). Outline what you are going to include in each section:

Introduction: Address the question, show why it's interesting and how you will answer it. Main Body: Build your argument. Put your groups of ideas in a sequence to make a persuasive argument. One main point in each paragraph. Conclusion: Summarise your arguments and evidence, and show how they answer the original question. Writing a summary - Some people plan best once they have written something, as this helps clarify their thinking. If you prefer to write first, try summarising the central idea of your essay in a few sentences. This gives you a clear direction for working out how you are going to break it down into points supported by evidence. You can then use one of the methods below to write a more detailed plan.

Which planning method suits you?

Spider diagrams / visual plans - These are sometimes known as mind maps. This kind of plan gets all the main ideas down on a page with key words and phrases round the central question. You can then order your ideas by numbering the arms of the spider diagram. This method is flexible and creative, so is good to use first even if you like to order your points in linear form afterwards. Example of a spider diagram. Bullet points / linear plans - This type of plan lists the main points using bullet points or numbers. It can be a brief outline of the main point per paragraph, or a more detailed plan with sub-points and a note of the evidence to support each point (e.g. source and page no.). Top tip: If you know you tend to write too much, cut down the number of individual points in your plan. If you find it difficult to write enough, expand on some of your points with sub-points in the planning stage. No plan is perfect, so be prepared for your ideas to change as you write your essay. However, once you have an initial plan it is much easier to adapt it and see where new things fit if your thinking does change.

Writing style
Academic writing is formal and structured. It should communicate clearly and unambiguously. This guide will provide advice on writing with clarity, precision and structure. As different subject areas have their own conventions, do refer to programme handbooks for specialist guidance. You can also look at publications, such as research journals, in your area to see their writing style. If English is not your first language, or you would like to access more information and activities on academic writing, you can also get more advice from the links below. If you are a University of Reading student and English is not your first language, the Insessional English Support Programme (IESP) provides training courses in academic writing skills, speaking skills, and pronunciation practice. There is a small charge for students not paying full overseas fees. Click here for a printable guide on this topic (this is designed to be printed double-sided on A4 paper, then folded to make an A5 leaflet).

Write formally and with clarity Write concisely and with precision Write for a purpose Structure your writing Referencing your work

Write formally and with clarity

Writing should be formal, but it does not need to be pompous.To maintain formality, There are various colloquialisms and shortened forms to avoid:

Avoid shortened forms:

Shouldn't, it's for it is

Avoid popular phrases or cliches such as:

at the end of the day; in a nutshell; when it comes to the crunch Replace with: finally, in summary, in a crisis

Avoid casual everyday words such as really, okay, maybe.

Think b4 u rite! :>) One recent poll of students at a US university found that an average student in the class would write 42 pages for class in a semester but more than 500 pages of email. In our everyday lives we are used to communicating by writing texts, emails and notes. These have their own conventions, such as using abbreviations ("txt"), using symbols (" :>)"), figures (4 rather than four) and not writing in sentences. When writing formal essays and reports we have to take extra care that our texting and emailing habits do not creep in by accident. Correct use of grammar and punctuation are important. They show that you care about your work and have adopted a disciplined attitude to writing academically. They also help to make sure your meaning is understood. Most common mistakes by inexperienced writers include: incomplete sentences; the wrong use of semicolons and colons; the wrong use ofapostrophes; nouns and verbs where singular /plural do not agree; and inconsistent use of tenses. For more, see our guides on Grammar and Punctuation. Good writing makes a point clearly and may illustrate it to help the reader's understanding. To avoid rambling, plan the points that you wish to convey and the evidence that you will use to illustrate. Include only necessary detail. When presenting a point of view, such as a line of argument for an essay, decide on the main points that you want to communicate. Plan one main point per paragraph. A paragraph can be planned (like a mini- essay) as follows: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Sentence introducing the point Sentence making the point with necessary detail. Illustration of point using reference: research example, case study, figures, etc. Critical analysis of point Sentence summing up the point and showing how it addresses the question or contributes to your argument.

Where abbreviations and acronyms are required to avoid repetition, ensure that, on first mention, the unabbreviated term appears together with the abbreviation or acronym, for example: First mention: "An article in the AJPh (American Journal of Philology) reported..." Subsequent mention: "Writing in the AJPh, Brown concluded that..."

Write concisely and with precision

Do not be tempted to use complex language or expressions that are not your own, just to make your writing appear "academic". Use straightforward language. Your reader needs to understand the information or ideas that you are conveying. Communicate succinctly without losing vital information or meaning. It is often easier to write fluently and then to edit out unnecessary words and phrases. Some editing tips to reduce word-count: Go through a paragraph that you have written and cross out any words, or phrases or even a sentence that may be unnecessary. (Or 'grey it out' change the text colour of the words you might remove to light grey.) Read it again to see if

you have lost anything essential to the information or meaning. If you have not, then delete it permanently. Replace phrases with single words meaning the same: The researcher wanted to find out / The researcher enquired Some academic writing, such as scientific research methodology, needs to be precise. A reader may need to have all the information required to understand exact conditions of a scientific study and to replicate it. Using simple sentences can be helpful. Avoid using non-quantifiable descriptions, such as : The company's production rate was high./The company produced 16,00 units per week. The wind was strong./The wind measured 6 on the Beaufort scale.

Writing with a purpose

Academic writing has a purpose.It may provide background information, the results of other peoples' research, the critique of other peoples' research, your own research findings, your own ideas based on academic research conducted by others, etc. It may be a combination of a few of these.

Decide on your purpose and what you intend to convey.If there is a brief follow it.If there is a given question, make sure that you answer what has been asked. Write down your main points.( Mind-mapping can help with this.) Decide on the audience for whom you are writing. If you are writing a university assignment, pretend that you are writing for an intelligent colleague from a related academic field, rather than for your professor who knows everything

For most subject areas the writing is expected to be objective. For this the first person (I, we, me, my) should be avoided. So I analysed the data becomes The data was analysed However, writing passively isn't always suitable. For instance, if you are asked to write a reflective piece, you will need to refer to your own actions and experiences. The important thing is to consider the purpose of your writing - that will help you to decide how to write it.

Write to a structure
Structure is important in academic writing - it helps to make your ideas clear, guides the reader's comprehension and can strengthen your arguments. Some academic writing, such as scientific reports, has a given structure. Just find out what is required under each heading and keep to it. Other writing (such as essays) requires the writer to select and organise the material they are writing and so develop a structure. Usually in the introduction the writer sets out the structure so that the reader knows what to expect and the order in which it will be presented. The order in which information is presented should be logical so that the reader can follow the thinking, ideally with just one point or idea per paragraph.In addition the ideas should flow or be linked so that the reader is drawn through an explanation or argument, rather than stopping and starting at each new point.The conclusion to the piece should draw together all the points or ideas and come to a conclusion. For more on structuring your work, see our guides to Planning & structuring your essay and Structuring your report. back to top

Referencing your work

In academic writing you are responsible for the writing you produce.If you are using research or ideas based on work by others (books, journals, websites) you must reference everything fully and in a standardised way. If you fail to do this, you are implying that the ideas etc. are your own and then you may be accused of plagiarism.

For more, see our guides to Using references in your work and Avoiding accidental plagiarism. back to top

For more on aspects of this topic, see...

Grammar Punctuation Effective proof reading Improve your understanding of grammar and punctuation - an excellent site with clear explanations and plenty of online exercises to test your understanding (University of Bristol). The Internet Grammar of English - an interactive course on English grammar aimed at university students. Free to access from any .ac.uk domain (University College London). The Academic Phrasebank - a bank of phrases commonly used in academic writing (University of Manchester). Spelling It Right - free printable worksheets for spelling practice. English Grammar Exercises - interactive exercises to help you improve your grammar (Higher Education Academy/Anglia Polytechnic University). Learn English - if English is not your first language, this British Council website has language practice activities for adult learners.

Writing your essay

Introductions and conclusions
Introductions and conclusions are not just the bits tagged on to the ends of your essay. They form a conceptual framework which the reader will need to understand your arguments. Always keep your reader in mind when writing the beginning and ending to your essay:

What do they need to know at the start so they become interested in reading your essay and can follow the rest of your argument? What do you want to leave them with as the main message of your essay at the end?

The best introductions and conclusions tell the reader exactly what they need to know to understand the main body of the essay.

Writing your introduction

An introduction gives your reader a way in to your essay. It is like consulting the map before starting on a journey; it situates the journey in the surrounding landscape, and it identifies the main route. You can think of an introduction as covering what / why / how:

What the question is about explain your interpretation of the question and what it is asking you to do. Why the question is important put the question into context and identify the main issues that are raised by the question. How you are going to answer it let the reader know what you are going to cover in your essay in order to answer the question.

If you want to narrow down a very open-ended question, tell your reader that you are doing this in your introduction. Explain briefly that you are aware of the many issues raised by the question, but that you are only going to focus on one or two in detailand why you have chosen these particular aspects. For example: "To what extent do you agree that regional inequalities in the UK are persistent and widening?"

What the question is about: The links between geographical location and distribution of resources & wealth in the UK. Why this is important: Because some regions in the UK are more prosperous and better resourced than others Why is this? What causes the inequalities between regions? How I am going to answer it: Have to narrow down "regional" and also "inequalities" so compare the unemployment rates, average salaries, and job opportunities in Oxfordshire and Lancashire as a case study.

Conclusions
Reading a conclusion should be like looking at a photograph after coming back from the journey; it should capture the essence of the journey and allow people to reflect on where they have been. You will need to summarise the main points of your argument, relate these points back to the question, and show the answer you have reached. Think about what your reader knows now that they didn't know at the beginning. If your essay question asks you to come to a judgement, for example "To what extent" or "How far do you agree", this is the place to clearly outline your reasoned judgement. It doesn't have to be a straight agreement or disagreement, but it is better to have a well reasoned side to your argument, instead of trying to combine every viewpoint into a muddled whole. It is good practice not to introduce any new information in a conclusion, as the main task here is to close the framework of your discussion by referring back to the questions opened up in your introduction. However it is sometimes appropriate to look forwards and speculate about future developments or trends. In many disciplines the speculative paragraph comes just before the conclusion. Your conclusion should leave the reader with a clear picture of your main argument, and also leave them feeling positive about your ideas. Don't end your conclusion with: - an apology, or a sentence that dwells on the incompleteness of your argument. For example, avoid finishing with, "If I had more time, I would also have covered". You may wish to raise some limitations in the conclusion, but do this in the middle of the concluding paragraph, and then end on a strong, positive sentence, such as "It has clearly been shown that" - a rhetorical question. You may believe that it leaves the reader thinking deeply about your argument. However, it just leaves the reader unsatisfied, as they expect you to come up with an answer to the question that you have raised.

Writing the main body

In the main body of your essay, you will be developing the ideas and arguments you have outlined in your introduction. You need to integrate your own ideas with evidence from your reading and other research, and critical analysis. (See Develop your essay writing for more on this.) It's better to discuss fewer things in more depth. Organise your writing in three or four groups of related arguments to keep your overall argument coherent and under control. Write in paragraphs and think of each one as a mini-essay with its own introductory sentence (what this paragraph is about) and concluding sentence (what was said in this paragraph). Keep your essay question in front of you and keep in mind your end point - the main message that your essay is working towards.

Make it clear how your arguments and evidence relate to the essay title and be ruthless in discarding anything that isn't relevant. Irrelevant information can actively lose you marks!

Get started and keep going

If you've made a plan (see Planning & structuring your essay for tips on how to do this), you will have a good idea of what you are going to include in your essay. That may not make it any easier to start writing! You might either:

Start with your introduction. This can help you to get your ideas sorted, and give you a reason to stick with your plan.

or...

Leave your introduction until you've written the whole essay, then go back and add it later. Instead start with the paragraph or section you feel most confident about and build up from there.

If you get stuck when writing your essay, it is often because you are not clear what your main ideas are yet. Take a step back and explain in simple terms what you are trying to get across. It often helps to explain your ideas to a friend, as putting things into words starts untangling your thoughts. Your friend can tell you the parts of your argument that they don't understand, and these are the points you need to clarify. (You can always do the same for them when they come to write their essay.) If you know you take ages crafting each sentence, allow yourself to write a rough draft just to get all the ideas down. In this draft, type quickly without editing as you go along. Don't worry about the exact choice of words at this stage; it is much easier to work out the phrasing when you have all the points on paper.

Analysing an Historical Document

Hope university advice from lecture Power point

Contents of the document - significance of people, places and events? Informed understanding of the context in which the document was produced? Appreciation of the perspective of the author(s), - bias & prejudice where relevant? Wider significance and other strengths or limitations of the document as a piece of evidence?
Slide 2

 Remain focused on the key issues in the document dont wander too far from the point Explain the importance/significance of points of content. Dont just rewrite the document Read relevant work and make use of it References (footnotes) and a bibliography are essential
Slide 3

origin and purpose of source reliability/objectivity of source key issues of content context contemporary developments; importance in scholarly debate
For assessing document work - Does the comment show a firm understanding and appreciation of the contents of the document, explaining where relevant the significance of people, places and events? - Does the comment demonstrate an informed, detailed and critical understanding of the context in which the document was produced and its relationship to the events surrounding it? - Does the comment demonstrate a firm and critical appreciation of the perspective of the author(s), displaying a clear understanding of bias and prejudice where relevant? - Does the comment demonstrate an informed understanding of the documents wider significance (for example, to historical debate), and a critical awareness of other strengths and limitations of the document as a piece of evidence?

More information from various university websites

A document may be of various types: a written document, a painting, a monument, a map, a photograph, a statistical table, a film or video, etc. Anything from the past that helps us learn what happened, and why, is a document. The technique of document analysis outlined below is generally applicable to all types of documents. However, it is especially appropriate for the written documents. Analyzing a document (external analysis) The introduction of the document : You do not have to follow exactly the sequence of issues given below. The first purpose of this section is to introduce your document and its subject (briefly) as well as to clarify the following : a. The author: Who is the author? What do we know about the author? What motive (purpose) might the author have had in writing this document? What biases or assumptions might colour the views of the author? What is the degree of familiarity of the author with the subject discussed in the document? Was the author a direct observer of the event/issue [if this is pertinent] or was the information obtained second-hand? Had the author any personal involvement in the events/issues described [if pertinent]? Do we have any reason to think that the author does not describe what he/she believes to be true? b. The time frame: When was this document produced? Is it contemporary to the events/issues it describes? In what context was it produced? How has it come down to us? Could it have been tampered with? c. Place: Where was this document produced? Does the geographical location influence the content? Was this document meant to be public or private? d. Category of document: What is the category in which this document falls (memoirs, poem, novel, speech, law, study, sermon, Church document, song, letter, etc.)? How would the type of writing affect the content and believability of the document? Is the document in the original language in which it was produced? Is the translation authoritative? e. Audience: What is the intended audience of this document? Was the author representing a specific group? Or addressing the document to a specific group (or speaking to a specific group)?

Analysing the document (internal analysis)

Main body of the document : a. Content of the document: What does the author argue (main theme; secondary themes: summarize them briefly but thoroughly. You might need to regroup ideas under some themes)? What specific information of importance is provided? What light does is shed on the society/events/issues described? Do not only summarize but analyze the document as well: What does the author really mean? Does the source tell a consistent story? Are there contradictions? Evident errors [why would this be]? Does the source provide us unwittingly with information (what can be read between the lines)? Are there allusions made by the author that need to be explained? b. Believability of the document: Given the external analysis and the content of the document, how credible is the information? Is it corroborated by other sources? Are important facts ignored? Why would such facts be

omitted? Using other credible evidence, can you confirm or contradict the thesis of the document? Is the testimony sincere, exact? What makes you think so? Are there assertions made that are incorrect?

Evaluating the evidence (conclusion) :

Reaffirm the core thesis of the document/author; present your personal evaluation of it. Comment on the influence/impact the document might have had and the reason(s) for it. Distinguish between the short and the long term. If possible, situate this document in a wider context. If it is a document produced by a specific group, or written from a clearly identifiable point of view, discuss to what extent it is typical of that point of view. It is in the conclusion that you really show that you have mastered the art of document analysis

Some rules to follow:

Avoid excesses of language and judgement, as well as meaningless comments (this is a "most interesting document" - outline instead what makes it interesting). Never use the personal form (I, me, my) Your analysis must be typed, space 1.5, Times New Roman, font 12. Margins must be the default margins of the Microsoft Word program. Cite the document parenthetically [] giving the # of the paragraph. Cite every time you raise specific information, or make deductions based on one or more of the paragraphs, as well as when quotations are provided. If you have consulted any source or web site, put it on a separate bibliographical page. Make a cover page with your name, date submitted, title (Document analysis: Your Title, Course title).

Analyzing a Historical Document part 2

Your professor may ask you to analyze a primary document. Here are some questions you might ask of your document. You will note a common themeread critically with sensitivity to the context. This list is not a suggested outline for a paper; the wording of the assignment and the nature of the document itself should determine your organization and which of the questions are most relevant. Of course, you can ask these same questions of any document you encounter in your research.

What exactly is the document (e.g., diary, king's decree, opera score, bureaucratic memorandum, parliamentary minutes, newspaper article, peace treaty)? Are you dealing with the original or with a copy? If it is a copy, how remote is it from the original (e.g., photocopy of the original, reformatted version in a book, translation)? How might deviations from the original affect your interpretation? What is the date of the document? Is there any reason to believe that the document is not genuine or not exactly what it appears to be? Who is the author, and what stake does the author have in the matters discussed? If the document is unsigned, what can you infer about the author or authors? What sort of biases or blind spots might the author have? For example, is an educated bureaucrat writing with thirdhand knowledge of rural hunger riots? Where, why, and under what circumstances did the author write the document? How might the circumstances (e.g., fear of censorship, the desire to curry favor or evade blame) have influenced the content, style, or tone of the document? Has the document been published? If so, did the author intend it to be published?

If the document was not published, how has it been preserved? In a public archive? In a private collection? Can you learn anything from the way it has been preserved? For example, has it been treated as important or as a minor scrap of paper? Does the document have a boilerplate format or style, suggesting that it is a routine sample of a standardized genre, or does it appear out of the ordinary, even unique? Who is the intended audience for the document? What exactly does the document say? Does it imply something different? If the document represents more than one viewpoint, have you carefully distinguished between the author's viewpoint and those viewpoints the author presents only to criticize or refute? In what ways are you, the historian, reading the document differently than its intended audience would have read it (assuming that future historians were not the intended audience)? What does the document leave out that you might have expected it to discuss? What does the document assume that the reader already knows about the subject (e.g., personal conflicts among the Bolsheviks in 1910, the details of tax farming in eighteenth-century Normandy, secret negotiations to end the Vietnam war)? What additional information might help you better interpret the document? Do you know (or are you able to infer) the effects or influences, if any, of the document? What does the document tell you about the period you are studying? If your document is part of an edited collection, why do you suppose the editor chose it? How might the editing have changed the way you perceive the document? For example, have parts been omitted? Has it been translated? (If so, when, by whom, and in what style?) Has the editor placed the document in a suggestive context among other documents, or in some other way led you to a particular interpretation?

What is a primary source? In history, a primary source is anything that comes from the period or event under study that will help shed some light, some understanding, onto it. Such a source was created by a person living at the time. These sources are often called "original records" by historians. They make up a great part of the material used by historians to recreate and interpret the past. Much of the primary sources is written and contained in public or private archives. However, a number of documents have been published in book form or have been uploaded to the web. Examples of primary sources are:
Letters Laws Diaries Newspaper articles Records of meetings Birth/Death certificates Speeches Memoirs Pamphlets Monuments

Paintings or Government drawings documents Photographs Films/videos or audio recordings Maps Books (from the time) Tools Clothing Architecture Oral history or interviews Census records Deeds and other documents related to land

Historians have developed techniques to analyse properly primary documents. What are secondary sources? Secondary sources are the work of people writing after the events or the period under study. Essentially, in history, secondary sources are the works of historians. They have examined the primary sources, digested them, and offer an analysis, a chronology, and judgment about the events. While this work should be done in an objective fashion, the work of historians is essentially interprative. They have filtered the primary documents and the reader only know about the event what the historian discloses. In doing historical research, it is not only essential to examine the primary documentation available but, as well, the writing of historians to determine what is the current perspective, or outlook, on an issue, what is well established, what questions remain, what new perspective might be brought to bear.

Analyzing a passage
In writing about literature or any specific text, you will strengthen your discussion if you offer specific passages from the text as evidence. Rather than simply dropping in quotations and expecting their significance and relevance to your argument to be self-evident, you need to provide sufficient analysis of the passage. Remember that your over-riding goal of analysis writing is to demonstrate some new understanding of the text.

How to analyze a text?

1. Read or reread the text with specific questions in mind. 2. Marshal basic ideas, events and names. Depending on the complexity of book, this requires additional review of the text. 3. Think through your personal reaction to the book: identification, enjoyment, significance, application. 4. Identify and consider most important ideas (importance will depend on context of class, assignment, study guide). 5. Return to the text to locate specific evidence and passages related to the major ideas. 6. Use your knowledge following the principles of analyzing a passage described below: test, essay, research, presentation, discussion, enjoyment.

Principles of analyzing a passage

1. 2. 3. 4. Offer a thesis or topic sentence indicating a basic observation or assertion about the text or passage. Offer a context for the passage without offering too much summary. Cite the passage (using correct format). Then follow the passage with some combination of the following elements: o Discuss what happens in the passage and why it is significant to the work as a whole. o Consider what is said, particularly subtleties of the imagery and the ideas expressed. o Assess how it is said, considering how the word choice, the ordering of ideas, sentence structure, etc., contribute to the meaning of the passage. o Explain what it means, tying your analysis of the passage back to the significance of the text as a whole. 5. Repeat the process of context, quotation and analysis with additional support for your thesis or topic sentence.

Sample analysis paragraphs

from James McBrides The Color of Water
An important difference between James and his mother is their method of dealing with the pain they experience. While James turns inward, his mother Ruth turns outward, starting a new relationship, moving to a different place, keeping herself busy. Ruth herself describes that, even as a young girl, she had an urge to run, to feel the freedom and the movement of her legs pumping as fast as they can (42). As an adult, Ruth still feels the urge to run. Following her second husbands death,

James points out that, while she weebled and wobbled and leaned, she did not fall. She responded with speed and motion. She would not stop moving (163). As she biked, walked, rode the bus all over the city, she kept moving as if her life depended on it, which in some ways it did. She ran, as she had done most of her life, but this time she was running for her own sanity (164). Ruths motion is a pattern of responding to the tragedy in her life. As a girl, she did not sit and think about her abusive father and her trapped life in the Suffolk store. Instead she just left home, moved on, tried something different. She did not analyze the connections between pain and understanding, between action and response, even though she seems to understand them. As an adult, she continues this pattern, although her running is modified by her responsibilities to her children and home. The image of running that McBride uses here and elsewhere supports his understanding of his mother as someone who does not stop and consider what is happening in her life yet is able to move ahead. Movement provides the solution, although a temporary one, and preserves her sanity. Discrete moments of action preserve her sense of her own strength and offer her new alternatives for the future. Even McBrides sentence structure in the paragraph about his mothers running supports the effectiveness of her spurts of action without reflection. Although varying in length, each of the last seven sentences of the paragraph begins with the subject She and an active verb such as rode, walked, took, grasp and ran. The section is choppy, repetitive and yet clear, as if to reinforce Ruths unconscious insistence on movement as a means of coping with the difficulties of her life.

from Toni Morrisons The Bluest Eye

#1 The negative effect the environment can have on the individual is shown in Morrisons comparison of marigolds in the ground to people in the environment. Early in the novel, Claudia and Frieda are concerned that the marigold seeds they planted that spring never sprouted. At the end of the novel, Claudia reflects on the connection to Pecolas failure: I talk about how I did not plant the seeds too deeply, how it was the fault of the earth, our land, our town. I even think now that the land of the entire country was hostile to marigolds that year. This soil is bad for certain kinds of flowers. Certain seeds it will not nurture, certain fruit it will not bear, and when the land kills of its own volition, we acquiesce and say the victim had no right to live. (206) Morrison obviously views the environment as a powerful influence on the individual when she suggests that the earth itself is hostile to the growth of the marigold seeds. In a similar way, people cannot thrive in a hostile environment. Pecola Breedlove is a seed planted in the hostile environment, and, when she is not nurtured in any way, she cannot thrive. #2 One effect of the belief that white skin, blonde hair and blue eyes are the most beautiful is evident in the characters who admire white film stars. Morrison shows an example of the destructive effect of this beauty standard on the character Pecola. When Pecola lives with Claudia and Frieda, the two sisters try to please their guest by giving her milk in a Shirley Temple mug. Claudia recalls, She was a long time with the milk, and gazed fondly at the silhouette of Shirley Temples face (19). This picture of two young African-American girls admiring the beauty of a white American film star is impossible for Claudia to comprehend. Another character who admires white beauty is Maureen Peale. As Pecola and the girls walk past a movie theater on their way home with Maureen, Maureen asks if the others just love Betty Grable, who smiles from a movie poster. When she later tells the others she is cute and they are ugly, Maureen reveals her belief that she is superior because she looks more like a Betty Grable image than the blacker girls do. Pecolas and Maureens fascination with popular images is preceded by Paulines own belief in the possibility of movie images. She describes doing her hair like Jean Harlows and eating candy at a movie. Rather than being transported into the romantic heaven of Hollywood, she loses a tooth and ends in despair. Everything went then. Look like I just didnt care no more after that. I let my hair go back, plaited it up, and settled down to just being ugly (123). Admiring beauty in another is one thing; transferring a sense of self-hatred when a person doesnt measure is another. At that point, the power of white beauty standards becomes very destructive.

Tsitsi Dangarembgas Nervous Conditions

Although Tambu recognizes the injustices she and Nyasha endure as females, she hesitates to act on her suspicion because of fear. First of all, she is afraid that she might not recognize and feel comfortable with herself in a critical role. She hesitates to pursue her critique, noting to herself, I was beginning to suspect that I was not the person I was expected to be, and took it as evidence that somewhere I had taken a wrong turning (116). Using other peoples perceptions rather than her own, she judges her thoughts to be wrong. Although she senses that her behavior as the grateful poor female relative was insincere, she admitted it felt more comfortable. It mapped clearly the ways I could or could not go, and by keeping within those boundaries I was able to avoid the mazes of self-confrontation (116). While she is somewhat embarrassed that she lacks the intensity she had when fighting against Nhamo and her father over the maize, she is reluctant to lose Babamakurus protection and fears experiencing the same kind of trauma Nyasha does in her struggle. Although she says

she feels wise to be preserving [her] energy, unlike [her] cousin, who was burning herself out, she reveals that she fears losing a familiar sense of herself in order to battle injustices.

How to Analyze a Primary Source

When you analyze a primary source, you are undertaking the most important job of the historian. There is no better way to understand events in the past than by examining the sources--whether journals, newspaper articles, letters, court case records, novels, artworks, music or autobiographies--that people from that period left behind. Each historian, including you, will approach a source with a different set of experiences and skills, and will therefore interpret the document differently. Remember that there is no one right interpretation. However, if you do not do a careful and thorough job, you might arrive at a wrong interpretation. In order to analyze a primary source you need information about two things: the document itself, and the era from which it comes. You can base your information about the time period on the readings you do in class and on lectures. On your own you need to think about the document itself. The following questions may be helpful to you as you begin to analyze the sources: 1. Look at the physical nature of your source. This is particularly important and powerful if you are dealing with an original source (i.e., an actual old letter, rather than a transcribed and published version of the same letter). What can you learn from the form of the source? (Was it written on fancy paper in elegant handwriting, or on scrap-paper, scribbled in pencil?) What does this tell you? 2. Think about the purpose of the source. What was the author's message or argument? What was he/she trying to get across? Is the message explicit, or are there implicit messages as well? 3. How does the author try to get the message across? What methods does he/she use? 4. What do you know about the author? Race, sex, class, occupation, religion, age, region, political beliefs? Does any of this matter? How? 5. Who constituted the intended audience? Was this source meant for one person's eyes, or for the public? How does that affect the source? 6. What can a careful reading of the text (even if it is an object) tell you? How does the language work? What are the important metaphors or symbols? What can the author's choice of words tell you? What about the silences--what does the author choose NOT to talk about? Now you can evaluate the source as historical evidence. 1. Is it prescriptive--telling you what people thought should happen--or descriptive--telling you what people thought did happen? 2. Does it describe ideology and/or behavior? 3. Does it tell you about the beliefs/actions of the elite, or of "ordinary" people? From whose perspective? 4. What historical questions can you answer using this source? What are the benefits of using this kind of source? 5. What questions can this source NOT help you answer? What are the limitations of this type of source? 6. If we have read other historians' interpretations of this source or sources like this one, how does your analysis fit with theirs? In your opinion, does this source support or challenge their argument?

Remember, you cannot address each and every one of these questions in your presentation or in your paper, and I wouldn't want you to. You need to be selective.

How to analyze a painting

See the introduction to Stokstads text. We can ask several different kinds of questions about every art work, some very factual in orientation, some very general. We can say: "I like--or don't like this," "This is good," or "This is interesting or important." Who--artist, patronage What--subject, medium, size, condition Where--location (museum, city) When--date Why--purpose, patronage, "meaning," interpretation

1. Basic facts: artist's name, the medium, the title, the probable date of the work, its location
now, its condition, and provenance (or source--where it came from). Sometimes this information is known through documentation, the art historian's best friend, but sometimes the art historian's purpose is to determine a likely artist or date in the absence of any documentation. In the case of Greek are, for example, where almost no documents exist, a very accurate chronology of artworks can be worked out nevertheless using the principles of stylistic development and relative chronology. In fact, paintings were rarely signed before the eighteenth century. (A "medium" is something "in between" that communicates between two people. Some art "media" are fresco, tempera on panel, oil on canvas, etching, drawing, bronze sculpture, etc. Modern media are TV, film, radio, and computers.)

2. Subject matter. What is happening in the picture? Who are the people in the scene (if it is a narrative)?
Stories in history painting often come from literary texts like the Bible or Greek Mythology. Find the text and read it carefully. This is not always so easy, even in the Bible, as the four evangelists--Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John--often tell different versions of a story, and the painter may follow none of these, but rather a pictorial tradition. For a side by side presentation of the synoptic gospels see a Harmony of the Gospels. How has the artists interpreted or "staged" the story? What does he include or leave out? What decisive moment has he chosen? Good artists often seem like the directors of a film or drama, and have clear personal feeling about the meaning of a story, since they are students of human nature. Scrutinize the characters in your painting and describe their actions and attitudes. Some recent paintings do not tell stories at all because they are abstract or non-representational, but remember that subject matter can be anything from a place to an emotion. Finally, other artworks are often alluded to in painting, because artists look at other art--both of the past and the present--at least as much as they look at "nature". Iconography is a word art historians have invented to talk about subject matter in artworks. Often the exact subject of a work will be obscure, or the text it is based on can not have been identified. For example, a bare-breasted woman may be a lactating Virgin Mary, a personification or allegory of Liberty, or the pagan goddess Venus. A dog may stand for Fidelity (Fides, Faith, Fido), or the Dominican Order (Domini Cane in Latin means "dogs of God"), or it may be just a dog, just as a cigar may be just a cigar. These kinds of symbols or "hidden meanings" in paintings were common in the Renaissance, but have largely gone out of fashion, so they must be recovered--a kind of detective work--if we are to do the painting justice. See Symbols in Christian Art and Architecture or George Ferguson, Signs and Symbols in Christian Art, a handbook of Christian iconography.

3. Formal qualities: line, color, brushwork or "handling," tactile values, volumes, modeling, proportion,
perspective or special construction, and composition are all ways to talk about the way the artist has conveyed his subject and given his personal interpretation. If he is a good artist, his choices will always reinforce and give impact to his original point of view. Good artists hate copying: they want to see problems in fresh ways and find new solutions. An analysis of any artwork in terms of these formal qualities is called formal analysis. You can do an enjoyable formal analysis of any artwork without "knowing" anything about it.

4. Style. Style is the sum total of an artwork's formal qualities. Every work of art has its own style, that is, it looks
different from almost every other work of art. Every good artist also has a style, which can be differentiated from that of other artists. In a broader sense, every country, city, century or decade has a style--hence, "the style of the Florentine Renaissance." So there is personal style, national style, and period style. The art historian--and anyone who wants to-develops his eye so that he can see these differences. People who have developed this skill--or talent--to an extraordinary degree are called connoisseurs. Any good art historian can look at a painting he has never seen before and place it fairly exactly as to the time and place it was made. An expert connoisseur can place it exactly--like a wine expert can tell the exact vineyard a bottle of wine came from (really). The fact that art changes, and that these changes are recognizable, is the central mystery of art history, because--after all--why doesn't all art look alike?

5. Patronage. Who paid for the work, and why? Was the patron a Pope, a King, or a private individual, or did the
artist make the picture "on spec" for nobody in particular--or simply for himself? Is there anything special about the subject or style of the work which the patronage might help to explain? How did the patron react to the finished work? In more general terms, what was the patronage system of the time and place, that is, was the Church a powerful patron, as in the Italian Renaissance, or did artists paint on speculation, as in the market capitalists art world of seventeenth-century Holland?

6. Historical context. What does this painting tell us about the time and place where it was made? Can we
deduce anything about the human values of this civilization? What was important to them? What did it mean to be a human being? What did they think art ought to be? These are important questions, and art historians believe that artworks offer unique windows into the past, that is, that they can show us intimate details about life that no other kind of historical evidence can. Nevertheless, the art historian is a historian, and is interested in the same kinds of questions that historians are interested in. He simply begins with different kinds of evidence. For example, the artworks of the Catholic CounterReformation of the seventeenth century can tell us much about the political and religious arguments going on in Europe at that time.

7. Critical Judgment. This is not really a historical question. Whether we like or dislike a work of art does not
in the least affect its significance to the people who made it. But the art historian does often ask whether the artwork succeeded in its intended purpose, which is to judge it on its own terms. And it is also true that art historians tend to be attracted to works of art which have stood the test of time and are still regarded as "masterpieces," because we think they can tell us more. Also, we can admire the way an artwork embodies a particular value system without admiring that value system. Generally, art historians find that it is fruitless to argue whether Leonardo was a "greater" painter than Picasso, since they lived at such different times and places. Nevertheless, once we have tried to do justice to the historical context of a work--and assuming that we are not missing anything crucial (a difficult assumption to make)--we are justified in asking whether a particular painting pleases us. Most students of art history find that they more they study, the more they like.

8. Interpretation: How do we know if we are "reading" an artwork properly? What do artworks say and how do
we get at the meaning of artworks? A Historical approach would hold that it is desirable and possible to see the artwork from the point of view of the person who made it and the people in the particular time and place to whom it was directed; this view holds that we must therefore reconstruct the historical, political, social, religious, psychological and technological context of the artwork as completely as possible in order to understand what the art "meant". Unfortunately, such reconstruction is never completely possible, although this method can often keep us from making horrible mistakes. For example, we can state with fair assurance that Michelangelo's David probably represented "the defiant will of the city of Florence against its powerful adversaries," and we can infer that it stood for some kind of ideal human beauty to Michelangelo himself, but we can never really "know" this. Art history aims to understand art through historical knowledge and history through artistic evidence, but there is a point at which any supposed "true" or exact "meaning" of any artwork must elude us. At that point we are justified in asking what the work means to us. Interpretation is an art, and its means is language. There are no right or wrong interpretations, only poorly expressed or uninteresting ones. Another word for interpretation is "criticism", which is really the art history of the present. The critic aims to clarify and judge recent artworks for the modern public, because, unlike some other kinds of history which use "persisting events" to understand the past, art history uses artworks, which are presumed to have quality--that is, they are either good or bad art. And making a judgment about artistic quality is often the proper job of the historian, who then becomes a critic. Examples of "interpretation": Sister Wendy Becket on Sargent and Rembrandt More interpretations at the Artchive Some types of interpretation include: Ekphrasis is the poetical description of the artwork and its story or subject. Hermeneutics attempts to explain the artwork by understanding the personality of the artist (very risky business).

Divination is a third type of interpretation. The important point to remember is that no interpretation can ever be proved to be right; the study of art is a humanistic discipline, not a science. See Mark Roskill, The Interpretation of Pictures.

Answering Gobbet Questions

History: Answering gobbet questions

Answering gobbet questions

The unseen exam asks for 'gobbet' answers as well as essay answers. We will practice gobbet exercises during the seminars and you will also complete a gobbet exercise in the summer term. What is a gobbet answer? A gobbet answer is a short analytical comment on an extract from a historical document. You are expected to wring the maximum possible historical understanding from the extract you choose to comment on. It is NOT an essay - the gobbet answer should be brief and well focused whilst packed with useful historical analysis (approx. 500 words should be sufficient). Remember that in the exam 3 gobbet answers (from a choice of 8) count for 1 essay answer. First read the extract carefully You are given an extra -hour in the exam just for the reading of the gobbet extracts. Read each one carefully, and give yourself the time to identify its origin and essential importance. What should I do after reading the extract? Make sure you understand the extract. Highlight key words or phrases and think carefully about the issues to which they refer. How do I structure my answer? Your answer should cover context, analysis and evaluation. One way of organising your answer would be to tackle it in three parts as follows: 1. Context (Situating the source): What type of document is it? Who is the author? Why was it written and for whom? When was it written? What is the tone of the text? You must place this information within its wider historical context. 2. Analysis: Here you need to really scrutinise the text for meaning. Pay close attention to the language used and explain the focus and significance of the content. 3. Evaluation: What is the historical significance of the extract and the document it is taken from? How does it relate to the general themes of the course? How useful is the source to the historian? Are there any problems with it of which we should be aware?

History: Answering gobbet questions

Checklist: Does the answer

Engage with the specific details of the extract? Demonstrate a knowledge of how the extract fits within the source as a whole? Consider the nature of the source (date, authorship, provenance, nature of the
intended audience, questions of bias etc)?

Cross-reference other work? Relate the extract to wider themes in the May 1968 course?
Does the answer avoid

Wordiness/irrelevance? Mere paraphrasing? An over-broad discussion in which the focus moves away from the extract
concerned?

A misunderstanding of the nature of the gobbet?

GOBBETS GUIDELINES

The exam Your exam will consist of two parts: Section A: Gobbets (answer three) Section B: Essays (answer one) In the exam, you will have 20 minutes for each gobbet, and, to help you, each one will have a question that is specific to that source.

What is a gobbet? It is a short commentary relating to a piece of primary evidence, either a passage of literature, an ancient image, an artefact etc.

What is its purpose?

Studying history is not just about learning facts, it is about acquiring the skills of an historian. Historians critically analyse source material in order to arrive at information that is as accurate as possible. The idea of a gobbet is for you to show that you know something about a piece of source material, its context, its importance, where it comes from, when it dates, what it says etc. It is a chance for you to show the examiner you can work critically with that source material by using your knowledge to evaluate a sources usefulness: that you know how historical information is acquired from sources, what types of sources there are and how historians use background information on those sources in order to assess the value of what they tell us. No source will be without bias of some kind, and none will give you the complete picture, so it is the job of the historian to identify that bias, establish the limits of the picture it gives us, and to extract information from that source accordingly. Gobbets are there to help you practice and show you understand this process.

How do you write them? Approach a gobbet like an upturned pyramid Start with the more general information and work toward the more specific This will lead you to a THREE STEP PROCESS:

1. What is the general historical background to the piece? When was it created? You dont necessarily need to give a specific date, but the period is important How specific you need to be with the dating will depend on how important that is for assessing the value of the source

What was going on at the time? if directly relevant, give a brief historical background

2. What are the more specific features of the piece? Who created it? What was their background? Their sources? Their opinions? Is it an official document? Or private? Why did they create it? What was their purpose in creating it? Is there a message? Who was the audience? How important was that audience to the creator of the piece?

3. What does the piece tell us? What does it say or say? What issue(s) does the piece raise? 2

What information does it tell us? About the subject matter? About the author? If pictorial: What is happening in the picture? What can and cannot be learnt from the picture? If written, what is the significance of the language used? If pictorial, what is the significance of the style of depiction?

How reliable is that information? Based on what we know about who created the piece and when etc. Are there any contradictions in the piece? Does it deliberately leave anything out that you know it should have included?

How significant is that information with regard to the study of the period? Is it the only account of this information? What is unique/not so unique about it? Can it tell us things that other sources cant? Why? Is there any discussion among historians pertaining to it?

Not all of these questions will apply equally to each gobbet, some may not apply at all in some cases, but it is important to have them in mind so that you give all the information the examiner wants

DONTS: 1. DONT write an essay about the subject the piece relates to. If you are shown a picture of bust of Pericles, dont write an essay about who Pericles was but WHEN the bust was created, WHERE it stood, and WHY it was created.

2. DONT just paraphrase what is already in the piece. You need to evaluate that information as well, that is the point of a gobbet. 3. DONT get carried away writing a short biography of the author: only include information on the author that is relevant to assessing the value of this particular piece. I.e. it is not of much relevance to a piece of Pericles speech in Thucydides that the author was a strategos in Thrace, but it IS relevant whether or not the speech was written before or after his exile from Athens. 4. DONT write an introduction and conclusion like with an essay

DOS: 1. DO include cross-references to any other primary sources, written or otherwise, that you are aware of that contrast or corroborate with what is said in this piece 2. DO feel free to answer in bullet-point form 3. DO be PRECISE, CONCISE and STRICT about only sticking to relevant information: youve only got 20 minutes

Guidelines on the marking of gobbet questions

The purpose of a gobbet question is to test your interpretative skills in relation to a particular passage of a text you have studied. The most important thing to remember is that however broadly you choose to cast the net of your discussion, your answer should take as its starting point the particular passage you have been given and analyse it closely in as much detail as possible. You should include any prior knowledge about the author and context of the work which you deem relevant and refer to other passages from the set texts if they seem appropriate. There are three main types of gobbet questions:

a) For some papers you will be asked specific questions about passages of text which may be given either in the original language or in translation. Each question will show the marks assigned to it and you should take care to bear this in mind when planning your answers. For example, if the first of the four questions set is worth only 5 marks, you should not spend as long on it as a question which is worth 15 marks. The most important point is to tailor your answers to the questions asked and to try not to waffle long-windedly and irrelevantly. b) Often the passages you are asked to comment on will be those which have been regarded as especially important to the understanding of a text. It follows that there will be many different ideas which it would be possible to raise in discussion of them. In some such cases the rubric will ask you to focus on one particular issue. For example, you might be asked to comment on 'the historical significance' of a piece of text or 'matters relating to the study of ancient religion'. You should always take care to follow the instructions given on the exam paper as the passages will have been selected carefully with specific answers in mind. c) At other time the instructions will be deliberately unspecific in order to encourage you to draw on whatever areas are of particular interest to you. You should think carefully about the possible scope of the question and try to construct an answer which shows an ability to argue both broadly and in detail. You should always try to comment on both the content and context of the passage and to show appreciation of any major debates relevant to its

interpretation. You should not be afraid to 'show off' and, as long as you do not run out of time, the more detailed, relevant information you can give the better. When trying to gauge how long a gobbet answer should be, you should always be guided by how many marks it is allotted in comparison to other questions on the exam paper. For example, if the essay questions are worth 40 marks and the gobbets 20, the gobbets should be approximately half as long as the essay. NB: If time is short, it is better to jot down some notes for which you might pick up a few marks than to write nothing at all.

Critical Thinking
Improving analysis, argument and structure in your assignments
In this study guide: What is critical thinking? Structure: organising your thoughts and materials Generating critical thinking Critical questions - a linear model Descriptive versus critical / analytical writing (evaluation) Developing an argument For further information and the full range of study guides go to: http://www.learningdevelopment.plymouth.ac.uk

What is critical thinking?

This guide to critical thinking stresses the importance of asking and answering questions. In everyday life the term critical is often seen as negative or destructive. Being critical in academic life, however, does not mean questioning things randomly, or for the sake of nit-picking. Instead, academic work aims to get as near as possible to the truth. Critical thinking in any subject or discipline is the way in which this is done, along with the more specialised applications of theory, the methods and techniques, which have been developed for the subject. Critical thinking then, is the attempt to ask and answer questions systematically. This means asking the most useful questions in the most productive sequence in order to yield a coherent and credible story So thinking critically means asking questions. Instead of accepting at face value what you read or hear, critical thinkers look for evidence and for good reasons before believing something to be true. This is at the heart of what it means to be a scientist, researcher, scholar or professional in any field. Whatever you are studying, critical thinking is the key to learning and to making progress. The common question words: what, who, where, when, how, and why will help you to get started; along with the phrases: what if, what next, and so what. Attempting to answer these questions systematically helps fulfil three vital functions for any

serious study - description, analysis and evaluation. These are the things you need to do: Describe ... e.g. to define clearly what you are talking about, say exactly what is involved, where it takes place, or under what circumstances. Fulfilling this function helps you to introduce a topic. More complex description will become analysis. Analyse ... e.g. examine and explain how parts fit into a whole; give reasons; compare and contrast different elements; show your understanding of relationships. In this way analysis forms the main part of any in-depth study. Evaluate ... e.g. judge the success or failure of something, its implications and/ or value. Evaluations lead us to conclusions or recommendations and are usually found at the end of a piece of academic work, a paper, chapter or other text.

Structure: organising your thoughts and material

To summarise what we have said so far: the diagram below shows how asking and answering questions helps to fulfil the three key connected functions of description, analysis and evaluation. This is a reliable basis for introducing, discussing and drawing conclusions about your topic. Beginning with what, this systematic questioning will encourage you to consider every aspect of your topic or question. Figure 1: Starting to think critically

M odel to Generate Critical Thinking Description

W hen ? W hat?
Topic / Issue / Title

W ho ? W here ?

W hy ?

Analysis
How ?

W hat next? So W hat?

Evaluation

W hat if?
John Hilsdon, Learning Development Advisor. University of Plymouth

You should aim to address most, but not necessarily all, of these questions for your topic and subtopics. The crucial questions for almost any topic are: what, which identifies the issue; why, which explores it in depth, addressing causes and using theory;
Study Guide 8: Critical Thinking, Learning Development, University of Plymouth (2010)

how, which helps you look at the processes at work; and so what, which helps you make judgements or conclusions, showing that you have reflected on implications. The model can be used in a number of ways at different stages of tackling an assignment. Use it before and during your reading; for planning the structure of a whole assignment; and also to structure each point within it.

Generating critical thinking - follow these steps:

1. Identify a topic. This can be your essay title, a subtopic, or a point you might want to explore in a particular section or paragraph. Write key words in the middle of a sheet of paper, or a blank document screen. This is the Topic or Issue in the diagram above. Or you could do it in a linear way and put these keywords in the place of a title, with the questions that follow spaced out in the margin, or as subheadings (see page 4 below). 2. Try to answer the questions on the diagram starting with what questions. Your answers may become part of an introduction, defining your terms or identifying issues. 3. Using the who, when and where questions, generate descriptive background information. This will provide context or scene-setting material which is also useful for an introductory section. 4. How requires consideration of the ways that something operates or works - e.g. processes or procedures. Attempting to answer questions using how takes you from descriptive to more analytical work. 5. Why also moves you deeper into analytical territory. It gets you to find reasons, explanations or causes. Think about all the possible questions to do with why (see the model below for some suggestions). Answers to such questions are likely to emerge over time from your reading and use of specific theories and findings reported in academic journals; published books and research reports; or from other authoritative sources such as policy documents. 6. Asking questions using what if moves you into a more evaluative phase of your thinking. It helps you to consider the possible implications or results of a particular action. This question is also useful for considering predictive work done by others, or engaging in forecasting of your own. 7. So what? is really the key question for an evaluation. It gets you thinking about value or values, meaning and significance. It is also about discriminating between more or less important factors in any situation. It helps you to think through and justify your own position, and discuss its implications.
Study Guide 8: Critical Thinking, Learning Development, University of Plymouth (2010)

8. What next? might refer to recommendations and predictions that your argument has brought to light. It leads you to consider and plan for more specific actions that might be necessary in certain kinds of assignment, such as a project or business report. Figure 2. Critical questions - a linear model
WHAT ?
What is thi s about? What is the contex t / s ituation ? What is the main point / proble m / topic to be e xplored?

WHERE?

Wher e does it take place ? Who i s thi s by ? Who i s invol ved? Who i s affected? Who might be inte res ted?

WHO?

Introductory and background information to contextualise problem / topic

WHEN ?

When doe s t his occur? How did thi s occur?

HOW?

How does it wo rk - in theory ? - in p ractice / context? How does one factor affect another? O r, How do t he part s fit into t he whole ? Why d id t his occur? Why was that done ? Exploration of relationship of parts to whole

WHY?

Why this argumen t / theo ry / sugges tion / solution ? Why not some thing el se ? What if thi s we re wrong ? What are t he alternat ive s? Possible si tuations and alternative response s

WHAT IF ?

What if the re were a proble m?

What if thi s or that factor were - adde d? - remo ved? - altere d? What does this mean ? Why i s thi s significant?

SO WHAT ?

Is th is convincing ? W hy / why not? What are the implications? Is it succes sful? How does it meet the c rite ria ? Is it tran sferable ? How and whe re else can it be applied? What can be learn t fro m it? What need s doing now ? Implications Solutions Conclusions Recom mendations

WHAT N EXT ?

Developing an argument: from description to analysis and evaluation

Notice how the three functions are not strictly separate but lead into one another (see the dotted lines in the diagram above). Here is a simple example of the model in action: imagine that an archaeology student has discovered something at a Roman site. As the dirt is cleaned away, the object is revealed. The archaeologist asks herself questions to help clarify her understanding:
Study Guide 8: Critical Thinking, Learning Development, University of Plymouth (2010)

Description What is it? Where was it? A small bowl with a handle At the site of a Roman villa (was this the kitchen or dining room?) Roman period approx 300 AD? Big house - maybe a wealthy family?

Description becoming analysis What was its purpose? How would it work? Why this size and shape? Why the handle? Could have been to contain liquid Bowl shape holds liquid and prevents spillage Easy to drink from Can be held and carried

When? Who used it?

The archaeology student could develop her answers to these questions in a written report or assignment by reference to academic texts. This would help in building an argument - e.g. to justify her view that what she has found is a drinking cup. In one of her books she might find: Containers for food and drink are found in every part of the world and have been used by humans over several millennia. Cups and other drinking vessels have evolved from naturally occurring structures such as seed pods and gourds (still used by some tribal peoples) through to handmade ceramic and metal objects and, more recently, industrially manufactured items. The essential characteristics of drinking vessels are their ability to hold liquid and to be held. Some may have handles and spouts, or may be enclosed with stoppered tops Notice how this text functions to describe by answering mostly what, who where and when type questions. Now lets see how the student might also use the critical thinking model for analysis and evaluation of her find: Analysis How is it made? How was it decorated? Rings are evidence it was made on a wheel Burnished (polished) with wavy lines typical of Roman period? Kitchen or dining area?
Preserved in soft soil. Durable

Analysis becoming evaluation What next? Need to compare the design and decoration with similar objects to verify its age

Why is it here?
Why intact?

So what?

Very rare to find intact pot - highly significant and valuable find!

In building her argument, the student might use her own reasoning prompted by the model, in combination with material she has read. She might find the following extract useful:
Study Guide 8: Critical Thinking, Learning Development, University of Plymouth (2010)

Romano-British Pottery: AD43 410. Most (but not all) pottery was wheelmade and very standardised. Locally made coarseware jars and bowls were used for cooking, food preparation and storage. Finewares, mainly used for dining, included bowls, dishes, cups and beakers. During the late Roman period numerous British industries produced finewares. Decoration was varied and included burnished zones, wavy lines or lattice patterns. Reference: Harris, J. (2008) Pottery Identification Sheet ONLINE: http://www.scribd.com/doc/3888712/Pottery-identification-sheet accessed 30.05.2010 Using her notes from a variety of sources, she might then produce a text like this:
A small, intact pottery vessel was uncovered at the site of a Roman Villa in Worcester on 12th June 2009. The vessel is a fineware cup which would have been used for drinking at table (Harris, 2004). It has a handle and is decorated by burnishing with a motif of six parallel wavy lines scored into the outside surface. It is thought that the cup may have been used by occupants of the villa, who were likely to have been members of a wealthy merchant family. Other evidence suggests that the villa was occupied between 100 and 300 AD (Smith, 2008) There are regular symmetrical ridged rings visible on the inside of the cup, suggesting that the construction of the vessel was by turning on a pottery wheel. It is known that this method for producing pots was common throughout Gaul and Britain from the middle of the Roman period. The decoration is also typical of the period and confirms it as fineware as opposed to coarseware (Harris, 2008; Smith, 2004). The location of the find is not surprising since it is an item which would have been in common domestic use. The precise spot, in the corner of a ground floor room, could possibly suggest that this was a dining or a pottery storage area; although without further information from the surroundings it is not possible to be sure of this. Recent investigations of the site have resulted in an outline plan and findings (Diggings and Tinker, 2008) which speculate that this part of the villa with its mosaic floor could have been an area used for dining. Although this vessel is not a particularly unusual pot in terms of its size and pattern, it is nonetheless a significant find because it was found intact. It is also valuable in that there is only a slight amount of damage to the patterned surface. This is rare because of the fragility of pottery and the likelihood of it being crushed under the weight of falling masonry or being trodden upon by human or animals. This pot seems to have survived whole because of the soft earth which surrounded it. It was further protected at some later stage when, luckily, an arched piece of stone fell or was placed above the pot, enclosing it within the space below the arch. In order to discover more about the vessel it will be necessary to make comparisons between it and others found from similar sites and periods. From a comparison of the decoration, style and construction of the vessel it may be possible to be more precise about its age, where it was produced and its use. References Diggings, I. and Tinker, B. 2008 Findings from recent examinations at the site of a Roman Villa near Worcester. Journal of Imaginary Archaeology, Vol 26. 3. 34-50 Harris, J. 2008 Pottery Identification Sheet ONLINE: http://www.scribd.com/doc/3888712/Potteryidentification-sheet accessed 30.05.2010 Smith, D. 2004 Comparing Roman Pottery. London: Shovel Press

Try going through the example above and deciding what the function of each sentence is. Ask yourself: is it description, analysis or evaluation - or is it a combination of one or more function? If you go through, sentence by sentence, you will
Study Guide 8: Critical Thinking, Learning Development, University of Plymouth (2010)

probably find it easy to see that most of the description happens in the first paragraph; the analysis in the second; and the evaluation in the third. There will always be instances where it is hard to say whether part of a text fulfils one or another function and often two or more functions are being undertaken together. This is because using language and writing is not an exact or purely mathematical activity. People use words in different combinations and attempt to do things in various ways and for various reasons. In order to be considered sufficiently critical, (academic) university level writing must go beyond being merely descriptive. Use the following table to compare the functions of writing in terms of being descriptive on the one hand, or analytical and evaluative on the other. Descriptive writing (mostly d) States what happened (d) States what something is like (d and a) Gives the story so far (d) States the order in which things happened (d) Says how to do something (d and a) Explains what a theory says (d) Explains how something works (d and a) Notes the method used (d) Says when something occurred (d) States the different components (d) States options (d and a) Lists details (d) Lists in any order (d) States links between items (d and a) Gives information (d) Analytical and evaluative writing (mostly a and e) Identifies the significance (e) Judge strengths and weaknesses (e) Weighs one piece of information against another (a and e) Makes reasoned judgments (a and e) Argues a case according to evidence (a and e) Shows why something is relevant or suitable (a) Indicates why something will work (best) (a and e) Indicates whether something is appropriate or suitable (a) Identifies why the timing is important (a) Weighs up the importance of component parts (a and e) Gives reasons for selecting each option (a) Evaluates the relative significance of details (e) Structures information in order of importance [etc.] (a and e) Shows relevance of links between pieces of information (a) Draws conclusions (e) (Adapted from Cottrell, 2005) The way academic writing follows this pattern, from description, to analysis, to evaluation, tells us something important about academic work - whether it is in the sciences, arts or humanities. All subjects, when studied at advanced levels, require these three things (description, analysis and evaluation) to be done,
Study Guide 8: Critical Thinking, Learning Development, University of Plymouth (2010)

and in largely that order, to tell a coherent story which is supported by critical reasoning and evidence. Academic work is intended to be scholarly. This means it should be of a high standard and appropriate to the particular level of study it represents. It is usually assessed by a lecturer - who will be a critical reader. So far we have used the critical questions model to think about generating material; but it can equally be used to ask questions about, and assess other peoples writing. You could try asking questions about a text to see how scholarly or scientific it is. What does it claim to be true? Can you believe its claims? Does it provide you with good reasons, evidence, or both to support its claims? And how good are the reasons, or is it good evidence? An important way to demonstrate the quality of your arguments, or evidence in your academic writing is by referring to work by others. The status of this work depends on how authoritative it is. If you are a critical reader, you look for authority in the form of references to relevant supporting work which has been published in academic journals, or text books. In these kinds of publications the content has been peer-reviewed. This means that it should have been independently evaluated by another qualified academic who will have read it critically to ensure that the material it contains is factually accurate and that the reasoning behind it is sound. This is unlike the material which may often be found in newspapers, magazines or from many online sources, where the content may not have been checked by anyone else, or where the work simply puts forward one persons opinion. If you would like to find out more about critical thinking, the books listed as references below are a good place to start. If you are working on assignments requiring reflection, our Study Guide 11 makes use of the above model for critical thinking and shows how it can also help in reflective work. We are always keen to hear from students and staff about whether or not you have found our study guides useful. If you have any comments, questions or suggestions, please do respond to our surveys using the links below or contact us by email to learn@plymouth.ac.uk. Staff survey link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SFBBDSV Student survey link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/M9DTCPL

References
Cottrell, S. (2005) Critical thinking skills. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan Cottrell, S. (2008) The study skills handbook. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan Van den Brink-Budgen, R. (2000) Critical Thinking for Students. Oxford: How To Books

Critical analysis
Be more critical! More analysis needed! Thats what my tutors say about my essays. Im not really sure what they mean. I thought I had written a really good assignment this time. I did so much reading and preparation for it, but my tutors feedback is not enough argument. Im not sure what to do now. I mean, Im not an argumentative person - and I dont really want to be.

One of the most important skills you will need to learn as a student, whatever your discipline is the ability to think critically and objectively about an issue and to present a well-constructed argument. Critical and analytical-thinking skills such as these will be essential to most aspects of your study, whether you are listening to lectures, contributing to seminars, or reading about your subject. Here, we will be focusing mainly on critical analysis for written work, as nothing gains or loses marks more for most student assignments than the quality of your written argument. Argument here doesnt mean disagreement or unpleasantness. It simply means presenting a strong case to support a point of view. You dont have to be an argumentative person to do this: on the contrary, good critical writing means using reasons and evidence to support your stand point. The first rule is: Identify the focus of the assignment Good critical analysis isnt simply about writing. Before you start any assignment, you need to be clear about your focus. At university, this usually means thinking critically about the requirements of the essay, report, or of the seminar or workshop topic. I always ask myself why the lecturers have set this particular essay? Why this particular wording? What is it that they are expecting us to read? Usually,

there is an underlying set of ideas or theories or problems or texts that they expect us to cover as part of our background reading for the essay.

The essay title or assignment brief will have been written with certain expectations in mind. You can try asking your lecturers about these expectations- and they may even give you some clues. However, at this level of study, you are usually expected to demonstrate that you can think these through for yourself. For me, critical analysis begins with the essay title. I try to work out which key debates or conflicts of opinion it refers to. I check through the main journals for my subject for any relevant academic debates that have been running over the last few years. That way I know I am up to date. The second rule is: Identify your own point of view The second consideration for critical analysis, and which is especially important for preparing student assignments, is to be clear about your own perspective. What exactly is your own position on the subject? This may change as you work through the assignment, but you should keep asking yourself this question as you study for the assignment, to help clarify your thinking and direct your research. It may take some time to arrive at your final position. Along the way, it may seem that there is good evidence to support many alternative points of view. You may feel that everything you read sounds right - or that nothing sounds right. However, at some point, you have to decide what position you are going to take up for yourself. If this isnt clear in your mind, then your writing will lack clarity and direction. I imagine I have only fifteen seconds to state my argument for a radio audience. If I cant say it clearly without rambling, then Im not ready to start writing.

The best trick for me is to sum up my main argument in a single sentence. I find this clears my head. I print out the sentence and tape it to the front of my computer where I can see it all the time I am writing that assignment. If I cant sum up what I want to say clearly and simply, it usually means I havent really worked out my position clearly enough. I always used to sit on the fence and concluded my essays by saying that there were some positive and some negative points about each school of thought. My essays ended up being vague because I wouldnt make a decision one way or the other. Now, I imagine Im like a lawyer- I decide which theory or point of view I would prefer to defend in court, and why, and take that as my own position for the purpose of the essay. The third rule is: Consider how youll persuade other people of your point of view

From the point of view of critical thinking, the aim of an argument is to persuade your reader of your position, your conclusion. Your point of view needs to be presented as a well-reasoned argument that leads to a conclusion based on evidence. Critical writing is really a line of reasoning, a set of reasons, presented in the most convincing and logical order, to support a conclusion. The third consideration in producing an assignment based on good critical analysis is to identify convincing reasons to support your conclusion - reasons that would persuade your readers or listeners- whether these are your tutors, fellow students or other people. I tend to work out my reasons in writing. Its like arguing with myself. Before I start my final draft, I go back over what I have written, and draw up a list of the reasons that support my conclusion, and those that undermine it. Then I mull it all over for a while, seeing whether the reasons are good enough. Do they really support my conclusion? Would they convince anyone else but me?

The fourth rule? Find the proof You may be able to list lots of reasons that support your conclusion - but are those reasons well founded? A good argument is based on solid evidence. So the fourth

consideration is to identify and evaluate the available evidence to see if it really does support your point of view.

Although it is good to start out with an idea of what you want to say, you will not be able to finalise your position until you have done some research. You will need to read around the subject, using reputable sources, such as articles from the bestknown journals for your subject. Dont just use general textbooks - make sure the authors you read are the leading ones for your field of study. Find out what they think about the subject- what are their theories? Whose views are they attacking? What research has been done on the subject? Are there different schools of thought about this subject? If so, what makes any of these convincing?

You need to make sure that you have evidence that supports your conclusion. You also need to know of any arguments against your point of view. What evidence are these based on? Why are these alternative arguments less convincing? Clearly, good critical writing also depends upon good critical reading skills. Even if an author presents an argument that seems compelling, it is important not to accept what is said without making a few checks first. Dont take the results of research at face value. When Im reading for my college work, its as if Im having a discussion with someone - Im always asking questions: - how do I know thats true - isnt that just an opinion? Or: thats interesting. I wonder if this would still be true if the survey was bigger? Or: what if hed used a different sample of people? Or even: so what?

Ive always enjoyed looking for where there may be gaps in the evidence, a bit like trying to work out the plot in a crime thriller, but for some reason, I always did this in my head, as you would if you were just reading a novel. When it came to writing the essay, I just described what each theorist said, or what was in each book, to prove Id read them, I suppose. Now I realise I had missed out all the best bits! My lecturers didnt want to know much about what other theorists said, they wanted to know what I thought of them - in other words, all the evaluation I had done in my head.

This evaluation of the evidence is exactly the kind of thing your tutor will be looking for as part of your critical analysis - so dont just do it in your head - write it down. For example, if you think that a piece of research is based on interviews with too narrow a range of people, write that down. If you think the results of a piece of research might have been very different if they had taken a broader range of conditions into consideration, note down a few examples of what you mean. The fifth rule is: Engage in debate

The fifth consideration for critical analysis is to engage actively in debate with different points of view- both those that adopt a similar to your position to yours and those that are different. Most essays, reports, and seminar sessions are designed to enable you to engage in such a dialogue - or debate - with well-known schools of thought, major theories or leading pieces of research in your subject. These are opportunities for you to read, reflect, question, and evaluate; to weigh up the arguments and identify their strengths and weaknesses. The books and articles you are recommended are likely to point out some of the major issues to help you, and you can refer to these within your own argument. By the time Ive read three or four articles, I can be totally confused. I might think the first thing I read is absolutely spot on; then I read an article that says the first article was flawed, and I agree with the reasons they give. Then the

third article argues that the second person was wrong in the way they criticised the first - and that sounds convincing too, and so on. In the end, Im not sure what I think.

Many students say they find that it is hard to decide between conflicting theories, arguments and evidence, and that they dont have a clear conclusion for their own essay. It is important to remember that academic debates arent usually clear-cut about right or wrong, and that new research leads to a continually changing picture. As a student, you need to weigh up the evidence to date - and make a decision about which seems the most convincing for now - or the circumstances in which a particular argument would be true. It may seem frustrating when there are many points of view and when these are based on different types of evidence. However, it is often easier to produce a better assignment when there is an opportunity to address complex issues or subjects that are hotly disputed. I like it when we are given subjects that are contentious, because then you can really sound out different ways of looking at the issues, and show how you have evaluated one persons views against another. If the subject is too easy, there is nothing to get your teeth into. The sixth rule is: Structure your argument Apparently, I had all the right arguments and evidence, but the way I presented it, hopping from point to point, nobody could tell. If you organise your argument clearly for seminars, people listen. If it jumps about and sounds muddled, then people just switch off.

Once you have engaged in critical debate with the issues, you have finalised your position, youve identified good reasons based to support your conclusion, then the next step is to consider how you will organise your reasons and evidence into a clear

structure. You want your argument to persuade your reader or listener. The aim is to do this through the strength of your argument, by the way you present your position, your reasons, your evidence, in a clear and logical way, and not through resorting to forceful or emotive language. Student assignments usually include critical analysis of complex material at some depth- so some thought needs to be given about how to present that material in a way that helps the reader to see the point and to follow the argument. You need to think through your argument from the point of view of your reader or listener - what order will make most sense for them? Is each point clearly linked to the one that came before? Does everything you are saying build towards your final conclusion, helping your reader or listener to understand the position you have adopted for the assignment? I usually sort out my ideas by writing them out first. When I am sure of the key argument, I cut and paste my text until I think I have a logical order. Then I print it out and highlight all the key reasons in yellow, and my conclusion in red. If I cant find the key reasons to highlight, which does happen (!) then I know I need to write these out

more clearly.

The assignment you hand in will be the last stage of a process of critical analysis. Remember that your tutor will be looking for evidence of your active engagement with the topic. Make sure that your final version captures something of your process of critical dialogue with the subject.

Critical thinking - Putting it all together

Identify the assertion of the argument. Does the author use any emotive or biased language? What is the author asking you to accept or do? Is this

belief or action reasonable? Identify the

evidence used in support. Is the evidence relevant to the assertion made? Is the evidence from a credible source? Is there additional evidence that would weaken the assertion? Look for missing links between the assertion and the evidence provided. If there is a missing link, is it reasonable? Look for ambiguous words that require more precise definitions. Do any words lack definitions? Are those words used consistently? Does the author compare one situation to another? Are the items alike in the relevant respects? Does the author apply a general principle to a specific case? Is the principle applicable? Does the argument recommend a particular action? Would this action have any undesirable effects?

Preparing for presentations

Most people feel nervous about giving presentations. Feeling well-prepared and practised will give you confidence in yourself and your material. This guide offers advice on preparing your presentation. It includes:

Thinking about your audience Planning your presentation Notes, handouts and visual aids Good slide design

Printable version of this guide (this is designed to be printed double-sided on A4 paper, then folded to make an A5 leaflet).

Thinking about your audience

A presentation is an act of communication between you and your audience. Tailor your presentation to suit your audience and their levels of knowledge.

Who will be in the audience? Students, lecturers, fellow researchers, experts in the field, business people, general public, a mixture? Consider your purpose to inform, show progress, persuade, sell, disseminate results, teach, or introduce a new idea? Will your presentation be an overview, basic introduction, develop an existing idea, go over old ground from a new perspective, summarise information, challenge beliefs, or show something new?

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Planning your presentation

It is difficult to take in a lot of detailed information when listening. Therefore, it is very important that your presentation has a clear structure so your audience can follow it. In a 10-15 min presentation you will only have time to make 3 or 4 main points. You will have more impact if your points are clear, simple, relevant, and direct. Beginning: Introduce yourself. Outline the aims of your talk and what you will cover in the presentation. Start with an attention grabber, such as a picture, an everyday example, or a rhetorical question. Middle: Your points should lead logically from each other. What does the audience need to know first in order to understand your subject? Then what do they need to know? What evidence will you use to support these points and convince the audience? Have clear sections or headings to structure the middle section and lead from one point to another. End: Avoid introducing new information at this point. Summarise the main things you want the audience to remember. End positively with a strong concluding sentence, not an apology. Leave time for questions. If you are presenting to an external audience, have your contact details available for people. When preparing your material, think about what you will be comfortable saying don't include anything that you aren't happy with or don't have confidence in. Do your research and check your facts so that you can feel secure in your knowledge. Steer clear of jokes and humour if it doesn't come naturally to you. What to avoid The most common mistake with presentations is trying to cram in too much information you either end up talking too fast, or overrunning the time limit. Keep to 3 or 4 main points with an introduction that sets out the contexts and a brief summarising conclusion. You can always expand on these if there are questions afterwards.

If you are working in a group, see Making Groupwork Work (LearnHigher) for more details of how to manage the process of planning your presentation as a group. back to top

Notes, handouts and visual aids

Many people are tempted to write their presentation out fully and read it aloud, but this isn't enjoyable for the speaker or the audience; it is hard to get vocal expression and connection with the audience when reading aloud, and a written script is often more stilted and formal than natural speech. A better idea is to speak normally and use notes to guide you. It may be better to use a few file cards for your notes rather than a sheet of A4 paper less flimsy and less tempting to hide behind!

Use headings and key words to remind you of the main points and their order Less is more you want to be able to read them quickly at a glance If you are using visual aids, note cues showing when you want to change slide You can write reminders to yourself like "slow down" if you tend to talk fast Note down things you definitely don't want to get wrong: names, dates, statistics Number your cards in case they get mixed up or dropped.

If you have been asked to prepare a handout, don't try to include too much information or your audience will spend more time reading it than listening to you. Include: - a brief outline of your talk - a summary of data - references and further reading on your topic - contact details There are also various visual aids you may use. The most commonly used include PowerPoint slides, transparencies, overhead projector slides, and posters. You might also use a flipchart or whiteboard, or have some physical materials you want to show. If you use visual aids, keep them simple and make sure that they support and add emphasis to your argument not distract the audience from what you are saying. Whatever you use, make sure you know how to find and use any necessary technology or equipment. Visual aids can give you confidence, help you to remember the structure of your talk and ensure that the audience does not look at you all the time. They should enhance and illustrate what you say, making it easier for the audience to understand and remember. They are not supposed to dominate or distract from your talk. Here are some common options and issues you may need to consider: PowerPoint slides

These are common and easy to use, but may take a few minutes to set up, so plan this into your timing. Ensure you have a backup plan in case the technology doesn't work on the day, such as having the slides on a memory stick as well as on the network drive, or having handouts of the slides to give out. Check you know how to change between slides using the mouse or a remote control. Beware of sound effects on animations! OHPs The overhead projector may be seen as old fashioned and low tech, but it rarely goes wrong and projects well in a light room. You can design OHP slides on a computer and print them straight onto acetate (make sure it is the right kind). Number your acetates in case they get mixed up. Before the audience arrives, focus the image correctly and check for glare. 35mm transparencies These look professional but can be expensive to produce. They need to be projected in a dark room, so you might find it difficult to read your notes, or make eye contact with your audience. Arrange for someone to raise and dim the lights for you when necessary. Flip charts / white board These are more suitable for small group discussions, as they simply can't be seen at the back of a large hall. Make sure you have non-permanent pens to write on the whiteboard. Also practice writing in large, clear letters so that it is easy to see. Handouts Handouts can mean the audience doesn't have to copy down all the slides - but they can also be distracting, as people read them instead of listening. If you are presenting to a large audience (for instance at a conference) it can be expensive to provide handouts. Consider whether they can be sent via email or put on a website instead. Props Showing an object may be useful as a focus for discussion with a small group. It will work better as a replacement for part of your discussion (e.g. leave out some explanation) rather than reinforcing your message. back to top

Good slide design

Keep your slides simple, uncluttered, and easy to read. Just because you can have music, moving graphics, and bullet points whizzing in and out doesn't mean you have to! But if you're confident about your technical ability, some simple animation can be very effective. 30pt font and above is best for large audiences. Avoid distracting backgrounds, and keep lots of white space between lines/sections. Choose a writing colour that shows up clearly on the background (avoid green & red), and for a professional presentation, stick to simple fonts and

avoid cartoons. Keep unnecessary punctuation to a minimum. If you're going to use images, make sure they are there for a reason - to illustrate your point or make it memorable. For sources of copyright-cleared images, see the Library's info-tip on Illuminating images! Example: In your presentation, you might say something like: "Classical Hollywood narrative usually traces a highly predictable story arc. The early part of the film is an exposition of the situations and characters the narrative will be concerned with. The status quo is disrupted by a complication of some sort. For instance, the hero and heroine are parted for some reason, or the virtuous heroine is mistakenly seen as sinful. The last part of the narrative resolves that complication and restores the status quo. This narrative structure has been paraphrased as: Get your hero up a tree - throw rocks at him - bring him down. " Your accompanying slide might look like this: It's a good idea to include a slide at the beginning of your presentation with your name and title, and follow this with a slide outlining your talk. End with a slide giving your contact details. If you're more used to communicating in writing, you might find it helpful to see some examples of visual communication. Visual.ly has inspirational examples that communicate ideas visually. While you're browsing, think about what works and why it works. Then you can apply those lessons to your own slides.

Poster presentations
Research is often presented in poster form. This guide includes advice on:

Producing your poster Handouts, flyers and feedback Presenting your poster

Printable version of this guide (this is designed to be printed double-sided on A4 paper, then folded to make an A5 leaflet).

Producing your poster

The first thing you need to do is check the size of poster you need to produce, whether it should be portrait or landscape, and whether you will have space for things like handouts, flyers and feedback sheets. If you have a poster that you expect to present more than once, it may be worth designing it on Powerpoint, and getting it printed and laminated. (Most print shops offer this service.) However, this can be expensive. If you are only going to present the information once, it will be easier to produce the information in 'snippets' that you can cut out and arrange, either on a

large backing sheet, or directly on a display board. Either way, you will need to think carefully about selecting the appropriate information, and arranging it so that the reader will be able to follow what you have done. A poster presentation is not usually an essay stuck on a board! (But do check what is expected for your discipline here.) Plan your information as for an oral presentation 3 or 4 main points, succinctly made. Add an introduction which gives the background, and a summarising conclusion. Edit ruthlessly! (See Preparing presentations for more on selecting and structuring.) When you are designing your poster, place the title prominently and make sure the boxes that contain your information are placed in a logical visual pattern for your readers to follow. Include a box with credits for all the people involved in the research the poster describes. Keeping plenty of white space around each box will make your information easier to read. Use a clear font like Arial or Verdana, and make it big enough to be read at a distance of between 1-2 metres. Bullet points can help the reader to identify important points. If you're more used to presenting information in writing, it may be difficult to work out how to do it visually and make it attractive and interesting, as well as accessible and readable. Have a look at Visual.ly for some inspiration. Ask yourself which types of visual communication you find easiest to read and are attracted to - and think about why that is. Then follow those principles for your own poster. For sources of copyright-cleared images, see the Library's info-tip on Illuminating images! If you are presenting research which has been conducted by a group, it may be helpful to look at Making Groupwork Work (LearnHigher) back to top

Handouts, flyers and feedback

There won't be much time for people to view and take in the information on your poster, so it's helpful to have some information they can take away. This might include:

a small version of the poster as a flyer a slip or card with the poster title, your name and email address if you don't want to give away your results contact details in case readers want to know more

One of the reasons for giving poster presentations is to get feedback on your research, so think about ways that people might give you this.

You might have a feedback form that you ask people to fill in on the day Or ask them to email you with any comments One of the simplest ways to collect feedback is to have sticky notes available and a feedback sheet to stick them on.

On the day Don't forget to take: drawing pins, sticky pads or Blutack to put the poster up; contact details; handouts; pens and sticky notes for comments; most importantly, your poster! back to top

Presenting posters
You will still be expected to 'present' the information. This usually means standing by the poster and being prepared to talk through the information and answer questions. You are likely to be dealing with individuals or small groups. As with oral presentations, it will help to rehearse what you want to say, and think about the kind of questions people might ask and how you will respond. See Delivering presentations for more advice on this.

Delivering presentations
This guide offers advice on delivering your presentation, including:

Practising your presentation Overcoming your nerves Engaging your audience Timing Dealing with questions

Printable version of this guide (this is designed to be printed double-sided on A4 paper, then folded to make an A5 leaflet).

Practice makes perfect

Practising builds your confidence, and enables you to sharpen up your presentation and check your timing. If you can, practice in front of friends or colleagues. Top tip Asking for feedback on specific aspects of your performance is likely to be more productive than saying "How did I do?" You might want to ask; "Was I talking too fast?" "Did you understand what I was trying to say?" "Did I wave my arms around too much?" etc. Doing a proper rehearsal is the only way to see whether your timing is right. Your presentation will probably take longer than you think. If you are speaking for 10 minutes, prepare enough material for 8 minutes. Time yourself, then cut or condense points to make sure you are within the limit.

Know what material you could skip over during your presentation if you are running overtime.

If you do find you are under rather than over time, consider where you could expand.

Practice in moderation if you overdo it, you could lose your freshness and be tired with your material. If you have to do a group presentation, see Making Groupwork Work (LearnHigher) for more advice. back to top

Overcoming your nerves

Most people are nervous about speaking in public. Often this is because they are unsure about what they will face, and how to deal with it. Being well prepared and taking control can help to defuse these concerns. Practising will give you more confidence about your timings. If you're using visual aids, check them carefully make sure you are familiar with any technical equipment or have assistance. If you are anxious that the audience will judge you, adopt a disguise! Dress more smartly than usual and play the role of a confident person for the day. Let them judge the disguise, not the real you. If you are very nervous you may feel like you ought to apologise for this or for other things like your accent, lack of time for preparation etc. It's better not to do this apologising shows lack of confidence and will cause your audience to feel anxious too. Act confident, even if you don't feel it. If you feel yourself getting anxious, take a few deep breaths, or have a sip of water - it'll give you an excuse to stop for a moment. back to top

Engaging your audience

You can get your audience on your side by making sure that they enjoy the presentation. If you look nervous, they will be uncomfortable and that will make you more nervous.

Take control of the room signal the start by introducing yourself, and the end by thanking the audience and sitting down. Smile you will feel better instantly, and the audience will warm to you. Make eye contact - looking up and out at the audience will help you create a connection. If you find this difficult, have a friend sit in the audience you can pretend you're giving the presentation just to them and they can nod approvingly at you! Making eye contact also means you can check the audience's reaction. If they are looking puzzled, you may want to slow down and explain more. Be aware of your body language. Standing up straight, facing the audience, and looking welcoming can make a big positive difference.

It can be helpful to think about your speaking tendencies. Do you tend to talk too quietly, too quickly, or too flatly? Give your presentation to a friend and ask them to comment.

It's tempting to write your presentation as if it were a script for you to read. Unless you are a practised actor, and know how to memorise and deliver a line perfectly, this rarely works. It looks more natural and sounds more interesting if you speak from brief notes say three bullet points on each of your main points. (See Preparing presentations for more advice on notes.) Most importantly, always try to talk to your audience not your slides or the screen on the wall! back to top

Timing
Getting your timing right is absolutely vital. If yours is one of a set of presentations, overrunning is discourteous to the other presenters. Good time-keeping demonstrates a professional approach and respect for your audience and fellow presenters. If you only have a brief amount of time, convey a clear message by focusing on main points only. It can be hard to cut down a lot of work on a topic (for instance, for your dissertation) to a few points. However, communicating a few ideas clearly is more effective than confusing the audience with a barrage of information. (See Preparing presentations for more on this.) Remember that you can always expand in response to questions. - Practise your presentation aloud. - Try to speak clearly and at a natural pace. - Don't be tempted to speed up to fit things in think in advance about what you could cut out if you're overrunning. - You can use pauses to emphasise important points or changes in subject. - Pause for slightly longer than you think necessary it won't seem that long for the audience. back to top

Dealing with questions

The prospect of people asking questions can be anxiety-provoking. It may help to think of questions as a dialogue with the audience, not an interrogation. People are usually genuinely interested and sympathetic, and want to find out more. It is a good idea to prepare for questions. Think of likely topics or types of questions people may ask, and how you might answer them. You may drop a hint in your presentation, such as "you can ask me more about this later" if there is a particular area you want questions on. Or get a friend to ask a question that will give you the chance to expand on something you've mentioned briefly.

When you're answering, give yourself time to think by using phrases like "That's a good question, I haven't considered it that way before", or "Could I get back to you on that afterwards?" Remember that you are in charge you can ask people to repeat the question if you haven't heard it, or politely ask for clarification if you're not sure you've understood it. You are the expert in your work, so keep control but be open to discussion afterwards. If there is a persistent questioner who keeps taking the floor, suggest that it might be better to continue that discussion afterwards, then ask if there are any other questions. You might also want to think ahead about areas that you are concerned about. Prepare for questions about these. And don't be afraid to say if you don't know you can open the question up to the audience: "What do other people think" or "Has anyone else had any experience of this?"

Poster presentations
Research is often presented in poster form. This guide includes advice on:

Producing your poster Handouts, flyers and feedback Presenting your poster

Printable version of this guide (this is designed to be printed double-sided on A4 paper, then folded to make an A5 leaflet).

Producing your poster

The first thing you need to do is check the size of poster you need to produce, whether it should be portrait or landscape, and whether you will have space for things like handouts, flyers and feedback sheets. If you have a poster that you expect to present more than once, it may be worth designing it on Powerpoint, and getting it printed and laminated. (Most print shops offer this service.) However, this can be expensive. If you are only going to present the information once, it will be easier to produce the information in 'snippets' that you can cut out and arrange, either on a large backing sheet, or directly on a display board. Either way, you will need to think carefully about selecting the appropriate information, and arranging it so that the reader will be able to follow what you have done. A poster presentation is not usually an essay stuck on a board! (But do check what is expected for your discipline here.) Plan your information as for an oral presentation 3 or 4 main points, succinctly made. Add an introduction which gives the background, and a summarising conclusion. Edit ruthlessly! (See Preparing presentations for more on selecting and structuring.) When you are designing your poster, place the title prominently and make sure the boxes that contain your information are placed in a logical visual pattern for your readers to follow. Include a box with credits for all the people involved in the research the poster describes.

Keeping plenty of white space around each box will make your information easier to read. Use a clear font like Arial or Verdana, and make it big enough to be read at a distance of between 1-2 metres. Bullet points can help the reader to identify important points. If you're more used to presenting information in writing, it may be difficult to work out how to do it visually and make it attractive and interesting, as well as accessible and readable. Have a look at Visual.ly for some inspiration. Ask yourself which types of visual communication you find easiest to read and are attracted to - and think about why that is. Then follow those principles for your own poster. For sources of copyright-cleared images, see the Library's info-tip on Illuminating images! If you are presenting research which has been conducted by a group, it may be helpful to look at Making Groupwork Work (LearnHigher) back to top

Handouts, flyers and feedback

There won't be much time for people to view and take in the information on your poster, so it's helpful to have some information they can take away. This might include:

a small version of the poster as a flyer a slip or card with the poster title, your name and email address if you don't want to give away your results contact details in case readers want to know more

One of the reasons for giving poster presentations is to get feedback on your research, so think about ways that people might give you this.

You might have a feedback form that you ask people to fill in on the day Or ask them to email you with any comments One of the simplest ways to collect feedback is to have sticky notes available and a feedback sheet to stick them on.

On the day Don't forget to take: drawing pins, sticky pads or Blutack to put the poster up; contact details; handouts; pens and sticky notes for comments; most importantly, your poster! back to top

Presenting posters
You will still be expected to 'present' the information. This usually means standing by the poster and being prepared to talk through the information and answer questions. You are likely to be dealing with individuals or small groups.

As with oral presentations, it will help to rehearse what you want to say, and think about the kind of questions people might ask and how you will respond. See Delivering presentations for more advice on this. An effective poster is ... An effective poster will help you ... ... engage colleagues in conversation. Focused Focused on a single message. Graphic Ordered Lets graphs and images tell the story; uses text sparingly. Keeps the sequence well-ordered and obvious.

... get your main point(s) across to as many people as possible.

In a hurry? Try the Quick Reference from our Resources page.

An effective poster operates on multiple levels ... source of information conversation starter advertisement of your work summary of your work An effective poster is not just a standard research paper stuck to a board. A poster uses a different, visual grammar. It shows, not tells. >>More>> Are your posters effective, attracting large and enthusiastic audiences? Or, are your posters examined only by your most avid competitors or admirers? >>More>>

Many ineffective posters suffer from easy-to-fix problems, including ... objective(s) and main point(s) hard to find text too small poor graphics poor organization >>Here's how this site can help you>>

You are welcome to link to this site. If you do so, we recommend linking to http://www.ncsu.edu/project/posters so that you will always be redirected to the appropriate place - the site is moved around from time to time.

Answering exam questions

This guide offers advice on effective strategies for the day of your exams. It includes:

The night before In the exam room Maximising your marks MCQs, short answers, open book and oral exams

What not to write After the exam

Printable version of this guide (this is designed to be printed double-sided on A4 paper, then folded to make an A5 leaflet). The stress of working under time constraints in the exam room can make all your good study intentions disappear. However, this is when it's more important than ever to get your ideas across clearly and concisely. That means taking time to think and plan your answers. Thinking beforehand about the strategies you might use in the exam room to plan and write your answers will help you to feel calmer and more prepared. If you are still feeling anxious after reading this guide, and are worried that this will affect your performance, come and or make an appointment with a counsellor. If you are anxious about exams you may like to know about the weekly relaxation sessions run by the Chaplaincy and the Counselling and Wellbeing service. These take place on Wednesdays 14.30 - 15.30 in the RUSU Lounge, Room 2 (weeks 1 - 8). These friendly sessions are open to all - no need to book.

The night before

Be prepared Make sure you know exactly where your exam will be the venues may be different for each exam. Gather what you will need to take into the exam room (pens, water, allowed texts, calculator, student card etc). The University of Leeds have produced a useful checklist: Exam preparation checklist. Some tips to help you sleep... - Stop revising 90 minutes before preparing for bed - Relax with friends, music, book, TV etc - Have a warm bath or shower - Use a relaxation exercise - If your head's still buzzing with thoughts in the middle of the night, have a notebook by the side of the bed and write them down The Chaplaincy offer regular sessions open to all students to teach relaxation techniques. Contact them for more details at chaplaincy@reading.ac.uk. back to top

In the exam room

Read the instructions carefully Before looking at the actual questions, read the rubric (instructions). Are there compulsory questions? Marks are often lost by nervous or over-

confident students who overlook instructions to "Answer 1 question from Section A, and 2 from Section B" or tackle too few questions. Work out the timing Divide your time according to the number of questions to be answered. Split it proportionately if you have some questions (or parts of questions) which attract more marks than others. Allow some time for planning. An example might be: four essay questions each attracting 25% of the total marks in a three-hour exam = 45 minutes per question = 10 minutes planning, 35 minutes writing. Allow checking time for statistics or calculations. Read the questions carefully. Read through the paper once and then re-read each question. You might think a topic you've revised hasn't come up, when it is there but the wording is unusual. Alternatively you have revised the topic, but the question is obtuse and you do not fully understand it. Choose your best questions - Mark any questions you might answer, and then check that you fully understand it. Do you have some relevant knowledge, ideas and evidence for the ones you choose to answer? Do not answer a question that you do not understand. Decide on question order. Some people like to start with the topic they know best to give them a good start. Others prefer to do their best question second, because with one question completed, they can relax and expand on their best ideas and gain extra marks. back to top

Maximising your marks

Think about what the question is actually asking. What are you expected to include in your answer? What material will be relevant? The most common complaint from markers is that the student didn't answer the question. Demonstrate that you are answering the question - In your introduction show how you understand the question and outline how you will answer it. Make one point or argument per paragraph and summarise to show how it answers the question. Shortish paragraphs with one or two pieces of evidence are sufficient. In your conclusion summarise the arguments to answer the question. Plan before you write The stress of working under time constraints in the exam room can make all your good study intentions disappear. However, this is when it's more important than ever to get your ideas across clearly and concisely. Take a few minutes to think and plan:

Underline the key words in the question; Identify the main topic and discussion areas.. Choose a few points/arguments about which you can write . Make a mini-plan which puts them in order before you start writing. You can cross it through afterwards.

Referencing in exams You should be able to refer by name (spelt correctly!) to the main theorists/researchers in your topic, giving the year of their major works. You do not need to give page numbers or lengthy quotes, except in open book exams. You do not need a reference list. What to do if your mind goes blank most students fear this happening. If it does put your pen down, take a deep breath, sit back and relax for a moment. If you're in the middle of an answer, read through what you have written so far what happens next? If you have to remember formulae, try associating them with pictures or music while revising. If you really can't progress with this answer, leave a gap. It will probably come back to you once you are less anxious. For more suggestions, see Revision and memory strategies If you are running out of time don't panic. Look at the questions you have left to answer and divide up your remaining time to cover them all. Be very economical make one point support it with evidence and then move on to the next point. If you really can't finish in time, briefly list the points you wanted to make they could pick you up a few marks. back to top

MCQs, short answer, open book and oral exams

Multiple Choice Question tests should be approached differently to exams that ask for essay-type answers. The answers required are usually more concerned with terms and definitions.

Read the directions very carefully before you start. When looking at the questions, always try to work out what the answer is before you look at the possibilities. Use a ruler to make it easier to see where to enter each answer. Answer the questions you know first, mark the ones you are fairly sure of and go back to them - leave the difficult ones till last. Remember that with MCQ exams you could get 100% - pretty much impossible in an essay-type exam! So don't dwell on a question move on and come back to it if you have time. If you finish before the time is up, go back over your questions and answers to check for reading errors.

Short answer questions usually require a briefer and more descriptive answer than essay questions, which ask you to discuss and expand on a topic.

If your questions all ask for short answers with an equal number of marks for each, divide your time up equally for the total number ofquestions. Otherwise allocate your time according to the proportion of marks each question attracts. If you have questions which are a mix of short and essay answers, check the rubric

carefully so you don't miss answering part of the question. Each part of the question should show the maximum marks you can get for answering it. Don't waste a lot of time worrying about a part of the question that only attracts a very few marks. Use parts of questions that ask for definitions or explanations to inform the longer, more discursive part of your answer. Don't repeat the information you give in one part of the question in the other. Ifa question asks you to "briefly comment", treat it as a mini-essay - have a sentence or two to introduce your topic; select a few points to discuss with a sentence or two about each; add a concluding sentence that sums up your overall view. If you have trouble working out how to start answering a question that asks you to "explain", imagine you are telling a friend about the topic.

Open book exams (i.e. those where you are allowed to take and consult texts into the exam room) may feel less stressful because you know you won't need to remember facts. However, this means the marks you can get will depend on your ability to use this information to build an argument, so be careful to avoid just giving a list of quotes.

Don't forget to take the text to the exam room! You won't be able to borrow someone else's. Don't be tempted to waste time in the exam searching the text for new quotes or information. Use it only for quick reference or confirming information or quotes you already know. Plan your essays without referring to the text - otherwise you may be tempted to usea previously planned but irrelevant answer. Remember that what's being assessed is yourunderstanding of the topic, and to show that you must give a relevant answer to the question. Think before you quote - make sure quotes support your argument, not replace it. Note that you will only gain marks for your own arguments, not someone else's words, so don't waste time copying long quotes. Integrate mini-quotes of three or four words so that they occur naturally in a sentence: e.g. The blinded Oedipus' desire to be "far from sight" (1570) reflects both his abhorrence of knowledge, and of others knowing him. If you use direct quotations or paraphrases from your text, you should acknowledge them with page or line number in the body of your answer, plus author's name and year of publication the first time the text is mentioned, just as in an essay. However you don't need to include a bibliography or reference list.

Oral exams for languages provoke similar anxieties to giving presentations. In both cases, the more prepared you feel, the less anxious you will be.

Act confident even if you aren't. Smile when you enter the room and shake hands with the examiner. Make eye contact during the exam. Ask questions as well as responding to them. Thank the examiner when you leave. Breathe deeply and regularly to calm nerves. Take a bottle of water in case your mouth is dry - slightly warm is better than ice-cold. Take your time! Don't rush into giving an answer before you've thought about what you want to say - you will get confused and make mistakes. Take a breath and think before you speak. Listen to the whole question carefully before you start constructing your answer.It's tempting to latch on to one word that you recognise and start thinking of your answer, but don't- you may miss an important part of the question. Know how to say "Could you repeat that please?" in the language you are being examined in. If you missed part of a question or didn't understand it, ask for it to be repeated. Some people deal with public speaking best by putting on a 'disguise' - dressing more smartly than usual, or wearing glasses if you usually wear contact lenses, for instance. Others feel better if they are more casual and can pretend it's an ordinary situation. Think about how you would deal with this best.

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What not to write...

Don't try to shoehorn in something interesting just because you have revised it. If it isn't relevant to the question it can lose you marks. Don't repeat a memorised essay just because it seems to be on the right topic. The question may be asking for a different approach. Don't use text speak or colloquialisms. Don't say "I think" or "in my opinion". Instead have ideas that are supported or opposed by your evidence. Above all, don't be tempted to write a note to the examiner explaining how you missed the lectures on this topic because your housemate stole your alarm clock. back to top

After the exam

Beware the post-mortem it's natural to want to discuss how it went with your friends, but keep it in perspective. Exams are dramatic events, and the temptation is to describe them dramatically "The easiest/hardest/fastest exam I've ever done!" No two exam experiences will be the same that doesn't mean you are wrong and they are right, or vice versa.

Between exams, you might find it helpful to practise writing exam answers using past papers. However, it may be more beneficial for some students to relax and rest between exams, than cramming in last minute revision for the next one.

Revision and memory strategies

Many students worry about memory especially in relation to exams. This guide offers advice on ways to improve your memory while revising. Not all of these suggestions will be effective for everybody, so experiment and find what works for you. It includes:

Getting your timing right Practising active learning Strategies for understanding Strategies for rote learning Testing yourself Recalling the information

Printable version of this guide (this is designed to be printed double-sided on A4 paper, then folded to make an A5 leaflet). In exams, for most modules, you will not be expected to be able to repeat information by rote. University exams are designed to test your ability to apply information by applying facts and ideas to the question being asked. You will need to be able to see the links between ideas quickly and select the most relevant information to include in your answer. If you are anxious about exams you may like to know about the weekly relaxation sessions run by the Chaplaincy and the Counselling and Wellbeing service. These take place on Wednesdays 14.30 - 15.30 in the RUSU Lounge, Room 2 (weeks 1 - 8). These friendly sessions are open to all - no need to book.

Getting your timing right

Time of day - Think about when you work best (morning, afternoon or evening). When you need to learn facts, try to revise when you are most alert and focused. Taking breaks - Take regular breaks to let your memory recover and absorb the information you have just studied. You will learn best if you revise material, have a sleep and then review the material the next day. Pacing your learning - You will learn best if you spread your learning of a particular topic over an extended period of time. Rather than focusing on similar information for a whole day, change topics completely. When you next pick up a revised topic take a short time to recall what you learned previously and then build on it with new information. back to top

Practising active learning

Passive learning does not work! - It's not effective to read your notes over and over, copy out notes or highlight bits of handouts. You need to think actively about ideas if you are going to remember them. Learn actively by thinking, understanding and connecting the things you are trying to learn to your existing ideas and knowledge. Consider how the information can be used to answer exam questions from past papers. Is it a theory? Or supporting evidence? Do you agree with it? Ask yourself "What have I just learnt?" "How could I use it to answer an exam question?" back to top

Strategies for understanding

Make sense of the information - Information is hard to remember if it does not make sense. So you need to understand what you are trying to learn and relate it to things you already know. Use your own words in revision notes as this connects the ideas to your understanding. Think about the material and look for similarities and differences between new information and what you already know. Why was the research valuable? Has it been replicated? Does it support old theories or suggest new ones? Explain the idea to a friend as this helps you to organise the ideas and ensures that you have really understood them. Organise the information - It is easier to remember well organised information. Try to find a meaningful structure for the information. Identify the most significant points, break down ideas into sections. Make a spidergram to summarise ideas and evidence. It is easier to remember one series of connected ideas rather than a lot of separate points. Make the information more memorable One way is to generate sounds or images to go with the information and form mental images to go with the ideas. Or make a spidergram using colours to create a visual image. back to top

Strategies for rote learning

Learning formulae and brief facts - Start learning formulae early in your revision and learn one at a time. Write the information out in colour on a card and stick it somewhere

prominent, e.g. by the kettle or in the bathroom. Look at it every time you pass by. Test yourself. If you know it then put another formula in a different colour by the kettle and add the old one to a pile that you test yourself on regularly. Mnemonics - These can be a useful way to learn facts. Use the first letter of each word to create an easily remembered phrase or word e.g. Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain (colours of the rainbow in order: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet). Using music - if you're good at remembering song lyrics, you might try choosing a song and replacing the lyrics with the formulae or phrases you need to remember. back to top

Testing yourself
The revision cycle To get the most from your revision, test yourself again and again but with increasing gaps between tests: 1. 10 minutes after learning something (e.g. at the end of the 10 minute study break which you take after learning the topic). 2. 1 day later at the beginning of a revision session. 3. 3 days later... 4. 1 week later....etc

If you can't remember the information at any point in the cycle then relearn it and go back to (1). back to top

Recalling the information

Remembering Practice planning lots of answers to old exam questions. You don't have to write the answer out in full. Practice plans will get you used to interpreting questions, then choosing and ordering what you know in order to answer them. During the exam this will help your ability to retrieve information quickly and see how to apply it to the particular question. Stay calm During exams stay calm. If you can't remember something move on to another topic. Your mind is likely to remember the information once you stop searching for it.

Exam Preparation Checklist

On the day: getting to the start Which days are the exams on? What time do they start? When do you have to be there?

 Where are they? Do you where the room is in the building? Where are the nearest toilets? How are you getting there? On the day: equipment What resources (if any) can you take into the exam? Do you need any special equipment? Can you take a bag in? If not, is there somewhere to store it? Are you required to write in ink? Use an HB pencil? What books and/or materials are you allowed to take in? On the day: format How long does the examination last? How many questions do you have to answer? What kind of questions are there - short answers, essays, multiple choice? Do some questions carry more marks than others? Do questions contain options within them? Are some questions likely to be compulsory? Is the exam paper divided into parts? How many questions do you have to answer for each part? And do some parts carry more value than others? Are there any questions you will not be allowed to answer, for example, because you have submitted course work in that area? On the day: timing

 How many questions are there? How much time is there for each question? Time per question o Take the total time o Subtract the time to read and decide which questions you will answer o Set aside some time to check your answers o Divide the remaining time by the number of questions